Spurs find they like livin’ fast

PHOENIX – Defense! Who needs defense, anyway?

Not the Phoenix Suns, as they’ve made clear this season with their run-and-shoot offense. And, it seems, not the San Antonio Spurs, who won Game 1 of the Western Conference finals Sunday 121-114 by taking the Suns’ game and doing it better, outscoring them 43-32 in the fourth quarter as the Spurs “held” the Suns to 58 percent shooting in that lockdown period of the game.

Seventy-five points in the fourth quarter of a conference finals game? Ever seen that before? “I know it’s likely I wasn’t there,” deadpanned Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, whose team again this season was the NBA leader in fewest points allowed.

This matchup marked the first time in 30 years the league’s highest-scoring team met the league’s best defensive team in the playoffs. That previous series was Golden State vs. the Bulls, and we know what happened then. The Warriors won in seven games. So there’s historical hope for the Suns, though the Spurs made a strong statement.

It was: We’ll play your game and beat you at it.

The Spurs did with a pinch of defense thrown in. They held the Suns to six fast-break points. Amare Stoudemire scored 41 points, Steve Nash had 29 points and 13 assists and Jim Jackson, subbing for the injured Joe Johnson, had 20 points, including a trio of three-pointers in a 21-9 third-quarter run that put the Suns up 70-64.

“We were right there offensively,” Nash said. “We just didn’t get enough defensively.”

One could say that about every Suns game, but they’re not about to win – or try to – with their defense. Coach Mike D’Antoni says they’re OK with giving up 121 points. They’re just supposed to score 122.

They didn’t this time. Quentin Richardson continues to slump (3-of-9 shooting) and Shawn Marion was 1 of 6 for three points. The Suns got a nice lift from Steven Hunter’s nine points and eight rebounds as they went bigger to help keep Stoudemire out of foul trouble by playing Hunter more on Duncan.

The Spurs’ strategy worked better. Defensive ace Bruce Bowen stayed on Marion, disrupting his game because Marion doesn’t get many shots in the Suns’ offense. The Spurs used Duncan often on Richardson, who mostly isn’t a main offensive option. It also was to save Duncan on defense because his ankles remain sore. Even before the game Duncan wondered how effective he could be. The Suns collapsed on him often, leaving Brent Barry and Robert Horry open for 3-pointers that proved decisive when Barry hit two with just over four minutes left to give the Spurs an eight-point lead.

Still, it came down to scoring, and the Spurs were able to do it. Tony Parker led them with 29 points, and Duncan had 28 to go with a game-high 15 rebounds.

The conventional wisdom has been the Suns can’t succeed because of their offensive-oriented game. But Popovich said life has changed out West.

“You look at Seattle, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas, even Houston had to run more,” said Popovich. “Small ball is a necessity.”

Actually, that’s the best game for Parker and Manu Ginobili. They want to run and slash to the basket, so they embrace the game the Suns play. Sunday’s win gave San Antonio a 3-1 mark against the Suns this season. The Spurs are 34-2 when they score at least 100. Quietly, they’ve scored more than 100 points in six of their nine playoff wins and are unbeaten in those games.

The Suns were coming off their overtime win in Dallas on Friday, so fatigue was a factor. D’Antoni dismissed it. “No one’s in there (locker room) dying.” he said.

D’Antoni also complained about the lack of effort on loose balls and not pushing the ball enough on fast breaks.

But now the Suns have someone they may need to outscore, and they haven’t faced that challenge.

Spurs 121, Suns 114

San Antonio (121)–Bowen 1-5 0-0 2, Duncan 10-21 8-10 28, Mohammed 4-7 1-2 9, T.Parker 13-22 1-4 29, Ginobili 5-10 9-13 20, Barry 8-12 0-0 21, Horry 4-7 2-2 12, Udrih 0-3 0-0 0, Nesterovic 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 45-87 21-31 121.

Phoenix (114)–Richardson 3-9 0-0 7, Marion 1-6 1-2 3, Stoudemire 13-21 15-18 41, Nash 12-22 5-5 29, Jackson 8-16 0-0 20, Hunter 3-6 3-4 9, Barbosa 2-6 0-0 5. Totals 42-86 24-29 114.

3-Point Goals—San Antonio 10-23 (Barry 5-8, Horry 2-4, T.Parker 2-5, Ginobili 1-2, Duncan 0-1, Bowen 0-3), Phoenix 6-15 (Jackson 4-8, Barbosa 1-1, Richardson 1-5, Marion 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—San Antonio 55 (Duncan 15), Phoenix 46 (Marion, Stoudemire 9). Assists—San Antonio 18 (Ginobili 5), Phoenix 19 (Nash 13). Total Fouls—San Antonio 23, Phoenix 22. Technicals—San Antonio coach Popovich. A—18,422. (18,422).