Spurs take command
Tim Duncan and Tony Parker are making the Western Conference finals look way too easy.
Duncan had 26 points and 14 rebounds, and Parker lived up to his pledge of giving the Utah Jazz “no hope” by sinking all six of his first-half shots, helping the San Antonio Spurs build a big halftime lead that turned into a 105-96 victory in Game 2 of the series Tuesday night at San Antonio.
Parker finished with 17 points and 14 assists, his most ever in a playoff game. Manu Ginobili added 17 points as the Spurs took a 2-0 lead, moving halfway to reaching the NBA finals for the third time in five years.
The Jazz never led in this game, and haven’t led since the seventh minute of the opener. While Carlos Boozer bounced back from a poor game and the club started strong, a second straight second-quarter meltdown left Utah trailing by 17 at halftime and 22 a few minutes into the third quarter. They got within seven in the final period, but were always turned away by big baskets from San Antonio’s playoff-tested veterans.
Now the Jazz are headed home down 0-2 for the second time this postseason.
Only two of the previous 57 teams to lose the first two games of a conference finals have advanced.
Utah coach Jerry Sloan has several days to come up with some way to do it. Game 3 isn’t until Saturday night and the next two games will be in Salt Lake City, where the Jazz are 6-0 this postseason.
“They’re a much better home team,” Duncan said. “We’re looking for a dog fight.”
Boozer led Utah with 33 points and 15 rebounds and Deron Williams added 26 points and 10 assists.
Rockets hire Adelman
The Houston Rockets hired Rick Adelman to replace Jeff Van Gundy, hoping the veteran NBA coach can break the team’s recent history of postseason flops.
The Rockets will introduce Adelman at a news conference this afternoon.
Mitchell has new deal
NBA coach of the year Sam Mitchell has been rewarded by the Toronto Raptors with a new contract.
Mitchell agreed to a three-year deal with a team option for a fourth year. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Mitchell, whose career record is 107-139, was the NBA’s lowest-paid coach last season, earning an estimated $2 million.
Spurs fined
The San Antonio Spurs were fined $50,000 by the NBA for failing to make the full team available for interviews the previous day.
The Spurs’ team officials were willing to risk a fine to let players rest Monday.