The AP

SAN ANTONIO -- With three NBA championship flags high above the court, and many of the key players from those title teams in the lineup, the San Antonio Spurs opened the Western Conference finals like a team ready to add to their collection.

Well, for most of Game 1.

Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker were terrific for three quarters, then good enough at the end to carry San Antonio to a 108-100 victory over the upstart Utah Jazz on Sunday.


Playing only 39 hours after ending a rough and tumble series with Phoenix and facing a team they could've taken lightly, the Spurs zoomed to a 19-point lead before halftime and were still ahead by 18 early in the fourth quarter. Then a combination of fatigue and Utah's Deron Williams turned things interesting in the final minutes.
Although the Jazz never got closer than seven points, and lost for the 17th straight time in San Antonio, Utah's late rally certainly got the Spurs' attention, as did Williams' career-high 34 points.

"In Game 2, they're going to be ready," Parker said. "The way they played in the second half, that's what we will see the whole series. We need to make sure we match that."