EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey, 10 June 2003 — Tony Parker awakened a sluggish San Antonio offense and the Spurs held off a late rally to beat New Jersey 84-79 and reclaim the lead in the National Basketball Association Finals.
French point guard Parker, the fourth-youngest player in NBA finals history at age 21, scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the last 14 minutes, showing maturity beyond his years in outdueling Nets veteran All-Star Jason Kidd.
“I’m really impressed with what he can do at this young age. He has really been great,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Tony is a special young man.
“To be thrown into this situation as young as he is and try to run the club, know all the players, to handle that I think is special.”
The Spurs, who had the NBA’s best record this season, seized a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series and can claim the crown by winning here tomorrow and Friday.
“There’s no pressure on us because we’re not supposed to win,” Kidd said. “We’re not even supposed to compete. We’re just supposed to lay down.”
Parker scored 16 points, four off 3-point baskets, in a 28-11 run over 8:45 that left the Spurs ahead 73-62 with 5:17 remaining. But New Jersey answered with a 13-4 burst to pull within 77-75 with 90 seconds remaining. Parker then sank one free throw but missed another. Tim Duncan grabbed the rebound and Parker made a perfect pass seconds later to Argentina’s Emanuel Ginobili for a baseline jumper and an 80-75 lead. The Nets never came nearer.
“Tim Duncan is just one of those guys,” Nets coach Byron Scott said. “We just didn’t do a good job of keeping him out of there. They get it back and Ginobili scores. That right there was probably the difference.”
NBA Most Valuable Player Duncan contributed 21 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists for there Spurs. But his late rebound of Parker’s miss was crucial.
“I just went hard to the middle,” Duncan said. “Kenyon tried to block me out. I got a lucky bounce and got to the ball.”
Kenyon Martin, the primary Duncan defender who led the Nets with 23 points and 11 rebounds, said the loss was a major setback.
“It’s going to hurt a lot because we thought we had it,” Martin said. “We have to come out and put all our energy and focus into game four and try to get that one. “We’re just not making shots like we do on a consistent basis. We need to step up. They are doing a good job stopping our fast break. We’ve got to find other ways to score.”
Kerry Kittles had 21 points for the Nets while Kidd had 12 points and 11 rebounds.
“We were passive and taking the jump shot instead of trying to explore the seams,” Kidd said. “We have to be patient, attack and take the open shot.” Kidd will become a free agent after the final and the Spurs have shown interest in obtaining him, likely to replace Parker. But such tension has not hurt Parker. The Spurs are 26-2 this season when Parker has at least 20 points.
“I try to not put too much pressure on myself and think about my matchup with Jason,” Kidd said. “I just try to run my team and be aggressive. I can’t control what the Spurs are going to do. I just have to worry about my game. “It’s team basketball. You can’t say that matchup will win the series.”
San Antonio led 33-30 after a tedious first half that set records for scoring futility. The Nets managed only nine points in the second quarter, matching the lowest offensive total in any quarter in NBA finals history, set by Utah in the fourth quarter against Chicago in 1998. “It was like a European game. Everyone was struggling. It was all defense,” Parker said. “We made a pretty good run in the fourth quarter to hold onto our lead.”
“We had to loosen up some to hit some shots and obviously that began with Tony,” Popovich said. The teams combined for the lowest-scoring first half in NBA Finals history, breaking the 66 of Utah and Chicago in 1998, and matched the lowest-scoring half in NBA history, the second-half 63 posted by New York and Houston in 1994.
“It was really ugly,” Spurs center David Robinson said. “Both teams missed a lot of shots. It was just an early game. It’s a lot better when things go your way but it’s good too when you can grind it out and get a win on a bad night.”
