Winning ugly

Parker's shooting rallies Spurs in fourth to take series lead

Tim Duncan was impressive inside, grabbing 16 rebounds to go with 21 points and seven assists. AP

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- For the San Antonio Spurs, this wasn't a horror show.

No matter how ugly it looked, they'll take the result.

In a game that was low-scoring for three quarters before the pace picked up in the fourth, the Spurs emerged with a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven NBA Finals by defeating the New Jersey Nets 84-79 on Sunday night.

"You think we'd rather go flamboyant and lose?" Bruce Bowen asked.

Obviously not.

But basketball fans can only hope for something a little more aesthetically pleasing than the gruesome offensive display that included the lowest-scoring first half in the history of the NBA Finals.

Led by Tony Parker, Malik Rose and Tim Duncan, the Spurs took control with a 14-3 run to open the fourth quarter and held off the Nets down the stretch.

How unsightly was it?

SI.com On Site  Marty Burns: Tim Duncan and Tony Parker grabbed the headlines, but it was Manu Ginobili who made two key plays in the final minute to preserve San Antonio's victory in Game 3. • Click here for more  Analysis and Opinion  • Fast Breaks: Rose's jam lifts Spurs • Picks: Burns | Hollinger | McCallum More Stories  • Game 2: Recap | Box Score • Kidd struggles again in Game 3 • Nets' offense lets them down • Supersubs Rose, Ginobili save Spurs • Teams set mark for 1st-half futility • Notebook: Arena to transform quickly • Ratings down in first two games • No asterisk for this year's champ   Instant Poll  What was your reaction to Game 3? Great defense Terrible offense Some of both Bring back the Lakers View Results

The winning team committed 17 turnovers, missed 12 foul shots, tossed up numerous airballs and even had players bickering at each other after a series of botched plays in the first quarter.

"That's what it takes to set basketball back 20 years," Rose said.

Added David Robinson: "It was really, really ugly. We had a rhythm for about 5 minutes, that's it."

Duncan, the league MVP, had a night that was nothing too special by his standards, scoring 21 points with 16 rebounds -- the 15th of which was most crucial. Parker added 26 points -- two off his career playoff high -- to make up for San Antonio's lack of any other double-digit scorers.

San Antonio improved to 7-3 on the road in this year's playoffs with its fifth consecutive victory away from home.

Game 4 is Wednesday night.

The final score didn't accurately indicate how bad the offenses were for three quarters. The teams combined to score 55 points in the fourth quarter after totaling only 111 through the first three periods.

"It was like a European game. Everybody was struggling," Parker said.

The Nets had the lowest-scoring second quarter -- nine points -- in NBA Finals history.

Lowest scoring halves Fewest total points scored in a half in an NBA playoff game Pts.  Teams  Date  Half  60  Bos vs. Det  May 10, 2002  2nd  60  Atl at NY  May 24, 1999  2nd  62  Utah at SA  May 9, 1998  2nd  63   x-SA at NJ   June 8, 2003   1st   63  Phi at Orl  May 11, 1999  1st  63  Utah vs. Por  May 20, 1999  1st  63  x-Hou vs. NY  June 8, 1994  2nd  63  NY vs. Mia  May 12, 2000  2nd  65  Bos vs. Phi  May 1, 1977  2nd  66  Cha vs. Chi  May 6, 1998  1st  66  x-Utah vs. Chi   June 12, 1998  1st  66  LAL vs. SA  May 14, 1995  2nd  66  Phx vs . S.A.  Apr. 22, 2000  2nd  x-NBA Finals

Kenyon Martin scored 23 and Kerry Kittles 21 for the Nets. Jason Kidd struggled with his shot all night -- just as a lot of players did-- and finished 6-for-19 for 12 points with 11 assists. He also had four of the Nets' 20 turnovers, and Martin had five.

"It's not a major setback. It's a minor setback right now," Nets coach Byron Scott said.

San Antonio again made heavy use of a zone defense to fluster the Nets, whose half-court offense was pathetic for most of the second quarter.

When Martin made a foul shot with 1:46 left in the third, the teams had finally combined for 100 points. New Jersey led 57-54 entering the fourth.

"It was our offense against their zone. It kind of stagnated and slowed us down. It is frustrating out there. You beat the first guy and you still got two 7-footers back there," Nets guard Lucious Harris said.

Rose had three momentum-altering baskets in the first five minutes of the fourth. The first was a ferocious dunk over Dikembe Mutombo for the first points of the quarter.

"It was my first time to get him. I forgot to wave the finger afterward," Rose said. "I'm after a poster of that one."

Rose's second was another dunk that started the Spurs' 8-0 run, the third was a 2-footer from the lane after Rose faked out three defenders.

The last one gave the Spurs a 68-60 lead -- their largest -- and forced the Nets to call timeout.

Parker scored San Antonio's next five points by following up his own miss and converting a layup, then hitting his fourth 3-pointer in as many attempts. The 3 gave San Antonio a 73-62 edge with 5:21 left.

A 9-2 run got the Nets back in it, pulling them to 77-71. Two free throws by Harris, an airball by Parker and a dunk by Williams made it a two-point game.

The Nets never shot for the tie as Manu Ginobili stripped the ball from Harris, but Parker missed two free throws.

Duncan grabbed the offensive rebound, and Parker drove baseline and found Ginobili open in the corner. He took one dribble in and made a 12-footer -- the biggest shot of the game -- for an 80-75 lead with 43 seconds left.

Kittles missed a runner and Williams missed a putback, leading to Duncan's 16th rebound with 31 seconds left. The Spurs wrapped it up from there at the free-throw line, with Duncan calmly hitting two for an 82-75 lead.

"We played the game the whole way through, which was a difference from the game before," Duncan said. "We have the opportunity to go into Game 4, get another one and really put them on their backs."

The Nets actually had their fast break working for a while -- the first six minutes of the first quarter. Kittles had a dunk on the break for the game's first basket, and the game's first 3 also came from Kittles -- and also on the fast break.

But that shot only made the score 9-6 at the midpoint of the first quarter -- a hint of the slow pace to come.

A 12-2 run early in the second quarter gave the Spurs a 30-25 lead, and New Jersey scored only five points over the final 7:02 of the quarter to go into intermission trailing 33-30.

The teams broke the first-half record of 66 points set by Utah and Chicago in 1998.

Notes: Several members of the New York Nets' 1974 and 1976 ABA championship teams were introduced, including Larry Kenon and Billy Paultz -- who played for the Nets in '74 and the Spurs in '76. Julius Erving got the loudest ovation. ... Popovich joked before the game: "We developed a new free-throw technique and we did some non-turnover drills, and I'm sure we won't have any problem in either area."