Spurs make easy work of Jazz

Tony Parker, center, of the San Antonio Spurs is fouled by Carlos Boozer, No. 5, of the Utah Jazz in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference finals at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas, on Sunday. The Spures won 108-100. PHOTO: AFP

Tim Duncan had 27 points and 10 rebounds and Manu Ginobili added 23 as the San Antonio Spurs eased past the Utah Jazz 108-100 on Sunday in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference finals.

Tony Parker contributed 21 points for San Antonio, which had just one day of rest coming off its emotional six-game victory over the second-seeded Phoenix Suns.

The Spurs opened a 19-point first-half lead and held off a belated comeback by the Jazz, who had been idle since closing out Golden State in five games last Tuesday.

"You can say it was jitters. You can say they had extra days off, maybe a little bit of rust," Duncan said. "But they played better in the second half and we didn't. We played good enough, though, by the way."

The emotional letdown looked to be a reality when the Jazz bolted to a 7-0 lead, but from then on it was all Spurs.

"We were running all over the place, giving them layups," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "The layups killed us. That's what a great team does, they take advantage of mistakes and they are as good as anybody you play against in that situation."

San Antonio shot 66 percent (21-of-32) in charging to a 54-36 halftime lead.

Duncan had 16 points and Ginobili 14 in the opening half.

Deron Williams shone brightly for the Jazz, scoring 34 points and sparking a late rally.

Utah hit 10 straight baskets in the fourth quarter and cut the lead to 95-87 on Williams' dunk with 2:43 to play.

Williams was unstoppable, scoring 11 points in less than four minutes and 18 in the quarter.

Michael Finley hit four free throws for San Antonio as the Jazz were unable to get closer than eight points until the last four minutes.

Sparked by Ginobili and Duncan, the Spurs used an 11-2 run in the second quarter to take a 44-28 lead with 3:53 left in the half.

They outscored the Jazz 32-16 in the quarter.

Every time Utah made a run in the third quarter, San Antonio had an answer.

Finley made a pair of 3-pointers and Parker had a steal and uncontested basket late to give the Spurs a 78-62 cushion headed into the final 12 minutes.

The main culprit for Utah was its dreadful shooting. The Jazz shot five-of-21 for the first quarter and 12-of-41 (29 percent) in the first half.

Carlos Boozer finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds for Utah, which is facing San Antonio in the postseason for the first time since 1998 -- the last time the Jazz reached the NBA Finals.