Spurs cruise to finals

SAN ANTONIO – Tim Duncan and Tony Parker wasted no time showing how serious the San Antonio Spurs were about getting back into the NBA finals – immediately.

Duncan and Parker powered an early 14-0 spurt that featured perhaps the most dominant stretch the Spurs have played all postseason and the Utah Jazz never recovered, letting San Antonio cruise to a 109-84 victory Wednesday night and into the championship round for the third time in five years.

The Spurs took all the suspense out of it by taking a 23-point lead early in the second quarter. Although Utah got an emotional lift at halftime when Derek Fisher arrived from New York, where his infant daughter was getting medical care for a rare eye condition, the only thing in doubt by then was whether the Spurs will play Detroit or Cleveland next.

The title series begins a week from today in San Antonio, regardless of who comes out of the East. The Pistons-Cavaliers series is tied 2-2.

“It’s great, it’s about the journey,” Duncan said. “Last year we had a tough finish. This year to come back, put the team together and to go through three really, really good teams to get here, it’s tremendous.”