Duncan, Spurs grab 2-0 lead in West finals

Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili each scored 17 points while Parker dished out a playoff career-high 14 assists for the Spurs, who now lead the series 2-0.

"(Utah) did a great job on our pick-and-rolls as far as keeping Tony out of the deal," said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. "But he was smart enough to move the basketball and get other people involved and that ball movement helped us out."

Game 2 followed the same format as the series opener, as San Antonio took control with a dominant second quarter and withstood a late Utah rally for the win.

Carlos Boozer poured in 33 points and grabbed 15 rebounds and Deron Williams contributed 26 points and 10 assists for the Jazz, who have lost 18 straight overall in San Antonio.

Game 3 of this best-of-seven series is Saturday at EnergySolutions Arena.

"We’ve lost two games there this year," said Duncan. "And they haven’t lost a game in the playoffs there (6-0). We understand that they are going to use that crowd’s energy. They will be a lot more confident playing in that building and we are going to have to bring a much better effort than we had here to beat those guys. So we are going to go in there and try to get that first game and really put the pressure on them."

Down by 16 heading into the final quarter, Boozer opened the fourth quarter with a three-point play and Paul Millsap and Derek Fisher followed with back- to-back layups to bring Utah within nine, 81-72.

Two Andrei Kirilenko free throws then made it a seven-point game before San Antonio went on a 10-2 run, featuring two straight threes by Bruce Bowen, to open up a 93-78 lead on Michael Finley’s dunk with just over six minutes to play.

Another three-point play by Boozer made it a 10-point game with 4 1/2 minutes left on the clock, but a Duncan layup followed by Bowen’s third trey of the quarter push the Spurs’ lead back up to 98-83. The Jazz were unable to get back within single digits until Williams’ jumper with eight seconds remaining.

"Every time we started making a run, they made a (three-pointer). They made a big basket," said Williams. "(Brent) Barry, Finley, stepped up and hit shots, Tony Parker in the fourth quarter. It definitely hurt us. We didn’t do a good job of defending the three tonight and it cost us."

Holding a slim 26-24 lead after the opening 12 minutes, the Spurs outscored Utah 32-17 in the second quarter en route to a 17-point halftime lead.

A Barry three followed by a running jumper by Parker pushed San Antonio’s lead to 42-31 with 5 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter. Boozer answered with a three-point play, but Barry and Finley nailed back-to-back treys to make it 48-34 San Antonio with just under four minutes to play.

A Mehmet Okur three-pointer brought Utah back within 11, but the Spurs scored the final six points of the first half, including Barry’s trey with 8.1 seconds remaining, to take a 58-41 lead into the locker room.

A 9-2 spurt, capped by a Finley trey, pushed San Antonio’s lead to 22 with just under eight minutes left in the third before Utah finally responded. The Jazz ripped off an 11-1 run and pulled within 12, 72-60, on Williams’ reverse layup with 3:45 left in the third.

A Kirilenko jumper with 1:35 to play made it an 11-point game, but Ginobili answered with a layup and a three-pointer with just .6 seconds left on the clock to give the Spurs a 81-65 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Game Notes

The Jazz are just 2-6 on the road in the playoffs... San Antonio improved to 6-2 at the AT&T Center in the postseason...Kirilenko finished with 15 points and Okur had 11 for Utah... Fabricio Oberto scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Spurs.