Write On Sports LLC - "Tony Parker's brilliance leads Spurs" by Jake Lloyd

Tony Parker's brilliance leads Spurs

2007-05-07 00:06:58 | By: Jake Lloyd

Maybe it's because he's engaged to one of the most beautiful women in the world. It really doesn't matter why.

For whatever reason, San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker is playing at an unbelievable level right now, and his play -- along with the play of his frontcourt mate, Tim Duncan -- is the main reason San Antonio defeated Phoenix Sunday afternoon 111-106 in Game 1 of their best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal.

Parker and Suns point guard Steve Nash exchanged great play after great play down the stretch. Parker stepped confidently into a jumper with just under four minutes to play to give San Antonio a 100-97 lead. Nash came right back, smartly drawing a foul on the much taller Robert Horry by using his body and converting the two free throws to make it 100-99.

Then they butted heads. Parker was the one down on the court. But Nash was the one with the incessantly bleeding nose. Parker would be all right, but Nash missed most of the final minute because nobody could stop the bleeding.

After his layup with 1:11 to play -- which followed another mid-range jumper by Parker (who simply could not miss on Sunday) -- cut San Antonio's lead to 106-104, Nash went to the bench and didn't come off it until 9.1 seconds remained and the Suns trailed by four points.

While it was unfortunate that Nash wasn't on the floor when his team needed him most (every eye watching Phoenix*s two disjointed possessions while Nash was out saw why he's the two-time MVP), it didn't take away from Parker's brilliant performance.

Parker played Nash to a draw (a huge win for San Antonio), scoring 32 points on 14-for-22 shooting and dishing out eight assists. Nash scored 31 points on 11-for-18 shooting and also dished out eight assists, but had just three turnovers compared to six for Parker.

I know Phoenix isn't the best defensive team, but Parker and Duncan were close to unstoppable when they ran the pick-and-roll -- the key being that Parker's mid-range jumper was close to automatic.

In past years, when the shot was off and on, a team could feel comfortable cheating under Duncan's screen and letting Parker take the shot, but not on Sunday. That's exactly what Amare Stoudemire did on Parker's final jumper.

What makes San Antonio's offensive performance so impressive is that Phoenix knew exactly what was coming, and it still couldn't stop the Spurs. San Antonio did one of two things when Parker and Duncan were on the floor. They either posted Duncan, who A) took it to the hole and scored (he finished with a game-high 33 points and 16 rebounds) or B) kicked it out to an outside shooter.

Sometimes that shooter was Mr. Automatic (yeah, I*m talking about Parker). Other times it was Michael Finley, who is proving to be the new Bruce Bowen in San Antonio*s offense. Finley hit two big shots -- one a 3-pointer -- about midway through the fourth quarter and finished with 19 points, including three 3-pointers.

Or Parker and Duncan run the pick-and-roll, which resulted in layups for Duncan, open jumpers for Parker and penetration for Parker on Sunday (yeah endless possibilities).

There are no mysteries to the Spurs' attack. They simply execute. And as predictable as it is, it's still as fun to watch as the Suns' fastbreak because of how good the guys that execute it are.

San Antonio's offensive efficiency began in the third quarter, which they began 10-for-11 from the field to turn a two-point halftime deficit into an eight-point lead at one point. Duncan and Parker combined for 20 of San Antonio's 26 points in the quarter, and the Spurs took a 77-75 lead into the final quarter.

On the other end, Shawn Marion was the main reason the Suns get back in the game. Marion, who finished with 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting, started the fourth quarter by making a runner (assisted by Nash), making an interior pass to Kurt Thomas for a layup, hitting a 3-pointer and finally scoring a tough layup on the fastbreak to give Phoenix a 85-84 lead -- its first since early in the third quarter.

Marion added two more layups about midway through the quarter, scoring 11 of his 16 in the period.

From there, it was the Steve Nash Show for Phoenix. After taking his usual fourth quarter break to rest his back, the two-time MVP came in and lit up the scoreboard.

The point guard prefers passing, but when he sees an opening, he doesn't hesitate, and that's exactly what he did. First he made one of his characteristic twisting layups. Then he nailed two free throws (he's only missed one this postseason). Then he stepped into a 3-pointer that tied the game at 102-102 with 2:22 remaining.

Great basketball was being played on both ends. Until, of course, the collision.

Don't make too much out of Phoenix's loss, though. These are two very evenly matched teams. Whoever wins this series will do so by making plays in the final minutes (although on Sunday, the final minute was the ugliest minute of what was otherwise a very well-played game).

Right now the edge is with San Antonio, and not just because it*s up a game. The Spurs have proven year after year that they make the key plays in the final minute. Horry is one of the most clutch shooters of all time. Duncan is Mr. Reliable down low (and sometimes at the free throw line).

And Parker? Well, he's proving to be just as automatic with his late-game play.

Phoenix has not proven it can pull out close games at the end. All we know is that the Suns definitely won't win games like Sunday's with Nash on the bench.

Leandro Barbosa is a great backup point guard. But he can't run Phoenix's offense like Nash.

And it became clear in Game 1 that when Nash isn't on the floor, the Spurs have a large advantage at the point guard position thanks to a French guy named Tony.

Bad call?

Phoenix coach Mike D'Antoni had every reason to be upset about a foul called on Barbosa with 26.7 second remaining before San Antonio inbounded the ball. As a result of the call -- the ref called Barbosa for apparently grabbing Manu Ginobili -- San Antonio, which was ahead by a point, got a free throw plus the ball.

Finley made the free throw and Ginobili converted one of two to give San Antonio a 109-106 advantage. After a miss by Stoudemire and another free throw by Finley, the game was basically over.

There was contact between Barbosa and Ginobili, but certainly not enough to warrant a call in such a critical situation. The refs need to let the players play in the final minutes of close games. The last thing commissioner David Stern wants to read about is the officials deciding an otherwise great game.

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