GAME THREAD: NBA: CLEVELAND (12-5) at SAN ANTONIO (13-4)

NBA: CLEVELAND at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">FINALS

NBA FINALS
CLEVELAND 81
SAN ANTONIO 93 6:00 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">FINALS

NBA FINALS
CLEVELAND 89
SAN ANTONIO 97 3:00 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">FINALS

NBA FINALS
CLEVELAND 92
SAN ANTONIO 103 0:45 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">FINALS

NBA FINALS
CLEVELAND 92
SAN ANTONIO 103 FINAL</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">FINALS

NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
CLEVELAND 17 16 29 30 92
SAN ANTONIO 28 30 31 14 103 FINAL

HIGH SCORERS: CLE - LEBRON JAMES 25, DANIEL GIBSON 15, DREW
GOODEN 13
SAS - TONY PARKER 30, MANU GINOBILI 25, TIM
DUNCAN 23</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">FINALS

** CONFIRMED **
NBA
CLEVELAND 92
SAN ANTONIO 103 FINAL</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">FINALS

CLEVELAND (92) AT SAN ANTONIO (103)

CLEVELAND

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

L JAMES F 38:02 9-21 7-11 3 4 7 6 3 1 6 25
D GOODEN F 24:22 6-12 1-1 3 3 6 0 2 0 0 13
Z ILGAUSKAS C 21:48 3-8 3-3 1 3 4 0 3 0 0 9
S PAVLOVIC G 26:54 4-11 0-2 2 2 4 0 1 1 3 10
L HUGHES G 20:17 0-5 0-0 0 2 2 2 1 1 2 0
D GIBSON 31:51 6-12 1-1 0 1 1 0 3 1 0 15
E SNOW 10:36 0-1 1-2 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 1
A VAREJAO 28:21 2-2 4-7 1 9 10 2 4 0 0 8
D MARSHALL 20:35 1-4 2-2 1 1 2 3 2 1 0 5
DA JONES 15:26 2-4 0-0 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 6
S POLLARD 0:54 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
I NEWBLE 0:54 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

TOTALS 240:00 33-81 19-29 13 29 42 15 19 5 11 92
(.407) (.655) TEAM REBS: 12 TOTAL TO: 12 (22 PTS)

SAN ANTONIO

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

B BOWEN F 40:37 1-9 0-0 1 4 5 0 1 1 1 3
T DUNCAN F 35:58 9-16 5-7 4 5 9 8 4 0 1 23
F OBERTO C 20:21 2-3 0-2 1 3 4 0 3 0 1 4
M FINLEY G 14:36 1-4 0-0 1 0 1 2 2 1 1 2
T PARKER G 35:44 13-20 3-4 1 3 4 2 2 1 2 30
R HORRY 26:23 1-3 2-2 2 7 9 4 3 0 0 5
E GINOBILI 28:09 5-11 11-11 0 6 6 2 5 3 3 25
B BARRY 11:44 1-6 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 3
F ELSON 13:18 3-3 0-0 2 1 3 0 3 0 1 6
J VAUGHN 12:16 1-2 0-0 0 3 3 2 0 0 0 2
B UDRIH 0:54 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

TOTALS 240:00 37-77 21-26 12 34 46 21 23 6 10 103
(.481) (.808) TEAM REBS: 3 TOTAL TO: 10 (16 PTS)

CLEVELAND 17 16 29 30 - 92
SAN ANTONIO 28 30 31 14 - 103

BLOCKED SHOTS: CLEVELAND - Z ILGAUSKAS, D GOODEN. SAN ANTONIO - R HORRY 5,
B BOWEN.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: CLEVELAND 7-19 (.368), L JAMES 0-2, D GOODEN 0-
1, S PAVLOVIC 2-3, L HUGHES 0-1, D GIBSON 2-5, D MARSHALL 1-3, DA JONES 2-
3, I NEWBLE 0-1. SAN ANTONIO 8-24 (.333), B BOWEN 1-6, M FINLEY 0-
3, T PARKER 1-1, R HORRY 1-2, E GINOBILI 4-6, B BARRY 1-6.
TECHNICAL FOULS: SAN ANTONIO - F ELSON.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: DICK BAVETTA, JIM CLARK, JOE DEROSA.
A - N/A. T - N/A.</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">FINALS

CLEVELAND (92)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
L James 38:02 9-21 7-11 3-7 6 3 25
D Gooden 24:22 6-12 1-1 3-6 0 2 13
Z Ilgauskas 21:48 3-8 3-3 1-4 0 3 9
S Pavlovic 26:54 4-11 0-2 2-4 0 1 10
L Hughes 20:17 0-5 0-0 0-2 2 1 0
D Gibson 31:51 6-12 1-1 0-1 0 3 15
E Snow 10:36 0-1 1-2 1-2 2 0 1
A Varejao 28:21 2-2 4-7 1-10 2 4 8
D Marshall 20:35 1-4 2-2 1-2 3 2 5
Da Jones 15:26 2-4 0-0 1-3 0 0 6
S Pollard 0:54 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
I Newble 0:54 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 33-81 19-29 13-42 15 19 92
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.407, FT-.655. 3-Point Goals:
7-19, .368 (L James 0-2, D Gooden 0-1, S
Pavlovic 2-3, L Hughes 0-1, D Gibson 2-5, D
Marshall 1-3, Da Jones 2-3, I Newble 0-1).
Team Rebounds: 12. Blocked Shots:2 (Z
Ilgauskas, D Gooden). Turnovers:11 (L James
6, S Pavlovic 3, L Hughes 2). Steals: 5 (D
Marshall, L Hughes, S Pavlovic, L James, D
Gibson).


SAN ANTONIO (103)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
B Bowen 40:37 1-9 0-0 1-5 0 1 3
T Duncan 35:58 9-16 5-7 4-9 8 4 23
F Oberto 20:21 2-3 0-2 1-4 0 3 4
M Finley 14:36 1-4 0-0 1-1 2 2 2
T Parker 35:44 13-20 3-4 1-4 2 2 30
R Horry 26:23 1-3 2-2 2-9 4 3 5
E Ginobili 28:09 5-11 11-11 0-6 2 5 25
B Barry 11:44 1-6 0-0 0-2 1 0 3
F Elson 13:18 3-3 0-0 2-3 0 3 6
J Vaughn 12:16 1-2 0-0 0-3 2 0 2
B Udrih 0:54 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 37-77 21-26 12-46 21 23 103
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.481, FT-.808. 3-Point Goals:
8-24, .333 (B Bowen 1-6, M Finley 0-3, T
Parker 1-1, R Horry 1-2, E Ginobili 4-6, B
Barry 1-6). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots:6
(R Horry 5, B Bowen). Turnovers:10 (E
Ginobili 3, T Parker 2, B Bowen, F Elson, F
Oberto, M Finley, T Duncan). Steals: 6 (E
Ginobili 3, B Bowen, M Finley, T Parker).

-------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND 17 16 29 30 - 92
SAN ANTONIO 28 30 31 14 - 103
-------------------------------------------

Technical fouls: San Antonio - 1 (F Elson,
0:19 2nd).
Flagrant fouls: None. A: N/A. T: N/A.
Officials: Dick Bavetta, Jim Clark, Joe
Derosa.</div>

 

<div class="pre">SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- "King James"? Please. LeBron James is</div>merely a figurehead. The true autocrats of the NBA are the SanAntonio Spurs, who have a dynasty in the making.

Looking razor-sharp on offense and ruthless on defense in avirtually perfect first half, the Spurs staggered James and theCleveland Cavaliers, 103-92, on Sunday, opening a commanding 2-0lead in what is starting to look like a terribly mismatched NBAFinals.

It was the usual suspects for the Spurs, who survived anotherannoying case of the fourth-quarter blahs. They have won eightof their last nine playoff games and are two wins away fromtheir fourth title in nine years. This one might be theireasiest yet.

Game One star Tony Parker again was unstoppable with 30 pointson 13-of-20 shooting, most of them layups. Three-time FinalsMVP Tim Duncan again was overwhelming with 23 points, ninerebounds and eight assists.

And when the Cavaliers made a frenetic but fruitless late push,supersub Manu Ginobili stopped it with a four-point play for a101-89 lead with 2:24 to go. Ginobili scored 25 points.

The trio combined for 43 points in the first half, when SanAntonio shot a blistering 55 percent (21-of-38) from the field,battered the boards for a 30-19 advantage and held the Cavaliersto 11 baskets, roaring to a 58-33 lead.

But it was more than the three-headed monster for the Spurs, whoput on a stunning display of two-way basketball in the firsthalf. Ageless Robert Horry, tracking his seventh championshipring, was everywhere on defense, collecting nine rebounds, threeblocks and a handful of disruptive deflections.

And proud father Bruce Bowen may have been asking James, "Who's<div class="pre">your daddy?" Bowen did another effective job of frustrating the</div>superstar swingman, who created some of his own problems withearly foul trouble and received another hard lesson in whybasketball is a team game.

James tried to shed the shackles he displayed in Game One,coming out much more aggressive - and paying for it with a pairof fouls less than three minutes into the contest. Cavalierscoach Mike Brown went by the book and sat his superstar, aquestionable decision given the urgency of the situation.

With James on the bench, the Cavaliers looked lost, diggingthemselves a 28-13 hole. They weren't much better when hereturned in the second period, either, falling behind by 28points in one of the worst first halves in Finals history.

Among James' lowlights were a traveling violation in transitionand an embarrassing free throw that drew no iron but plenty ofderisive jeers from the 18,797 at the AT&T Center.

James scored 25 points, making 9-of-21 shots and committing sixmore turnovers. He can take solace in the fact that he forcedthe Spurs to finish the game but not much else.

Daniel Gibson scored 15 points for Cleveland, which used a 25-6run to close within eight points in the fourth quarter. But itwas too little, too late.

If we are all witnesses, it may be to a murder. Game Three isTuesday in Cleveland.

The biggest adjustments in a series are made between Games Oneand Two, and the belief was that the Cavs had plenty to make.But Brown indicated otherwise before the game. "I don't change alot," he said. "I try to find a rhythm in something and thenstick with it."

James had no rhythm in Game One, often settling for jumpers. Hescored Cleveland's first basket on a follow shot, but wassitting on the bench just over two minutes later aftercommitting a pair of fouls on Duncan.

With "The King" off the floor, the Cavs looked like pawns as theSpurs took control of the game, opening a 16-6 lead on atransition layup by the speedy Parker. Cleveland surged backwithout its star, but San Antonio - with Duncan on the bench -replied with a 12-0 burst fueled by Ginobili, building the bulgeto 28-13.

James and Duncan both returned at the start of the secondquarter, but only one star was effective. James missed a jumperand committed a turnover, while Duncan had a pair of bucketsand a free throw that had the Spurs doubling up on the Cavs,38-19, at the TV timeout.

Speaking of TV, when the series finale of "The Sopranos" endedat 10 p.m. EDT, much of America hit the remote and saw SanAntonio whacking Cleveland by the telling score of 45-26. Noone could be faulted for clicking again.

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">FINALS

CLEVELAND (92) AT SAN ANTONIO (103)

CLEVELAND

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

L JAMES F 38:00 9-21 7-11 3 4 7 6 3 1 6 25
D GOODEN F 24:21 6-12 1-1 3 3 6 0 2 0 0 13
Z ILGAUSKAS C 21:48 3-8 3-3 1 3 4 0 3 0 0 9
S PAVLOVIC G 26:55 4-11 0-2 2 2 4 0 1 1 3 10
L HUGHES G 20:17 0-5 0-0 0 2 2 2 1 1 2 0
D GIBSON 31:51 6-12 1-1 0 1 1 0 3 1 0 15
E SNOW 10:35 0-1 1-2 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 1
A VAREJAO 28:22 2-2 4-7 1 9 10 2 4 0 0 8
D MARSHALL 20:34 1-4 2-2 1 1 2 3 2 1 0 5
DA JONES 15:27 2-4 0-0 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 6
S POLLARD 0:55 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
I NEWBLE 0:55 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

TOTALS 240:00 33-81 19-29 13 29 42 15 19 5 11 92
(.407) (.655) TEAM REBS: 12 TOTAL TO: 12 (24 PTS)

SAN ANTONIO

REBOUNDS
PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS
====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == ===

B BOWEN F 40:37 1-9 0-0 1 4 5 0 1 1 1 3
T DUNCAN F 35:57 9-16 5-7 4 5 9 8 4 0 1 23
F OBERTO C 20:19 2-3 0-2 1 3 4 0 3 0 1 4
M FINLEY G 14:36 1-4 0-0 1 0 1 2 2 1 1 2
T PARKER G 35:43 13-20 3-4 1 3 4 2 2 1 2 30
R HORRY 26:26 1-3 2-2 2 7 9 4 3 0 0 5
E GINOBILI 28:07 5-11 11-11 0 6 6 2 5 3 3 25
B BARRY 11:45 1-6 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 3
F ELSON 13:18 3-3 0-0 2 1 3 0 3 0 1 6
J VAUGHN 12:17 1-2 0-0 0 3 3 2 0 0 0 2
B UDRIH 0:55 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
M BONNER DNP - COACH'S DECISION

TOTALS 240:00 37-77 21-26 12 34 46 21 23 6 10 103
(.481) (.808) TEAM REBS: 3 TOTAL TO: 10 (17 PTS)

CLEVELAND 17 16 29 30 - 92
SAN ANTONIO 28 30 31 14 - 103

BLOCKED SHOTS: CLEVELAND - Z ILGAUSKAS, D GOODEN. SAN ANTONIO - R HORRY 5,
B BOWEN.
3-PT. FIELD GOALS: CLEVELAND 7-19 (.368), L JAMES 0-2, D GOODEN 0-
1, S PAVLOVIC 2-3, L HUGHES 0-1, D GIBSON 2-5, D MARSHALL 1-3, DA JONES 2-
3, I NEWBLE 0-1. SAN ANTONIO 8-24 (.333), B BOWEN 1-6, M FINLEY 0-
3, T PARKER 1-1, R HORRY 1-2, E GINOBILI 4-6, B BARRY 1-6.
TECHNICAL FOULS: SAN ANTONIO - F ELSON.
FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE.
OFFICIALS: DICK BAVETTA, JIM CLARK, JOE DEROSA.
A - 18,797. T - 2:36.</div>

 

NBA: CLEVELAND at SAN ANTONIO

<div class="pre">FINALS

CLEVELAND (92)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
L James 38:00 9-21 7-11 3-7 6 3 25
D Gooden 24:21 6-12 1-1 3-6 0 2 13
Z Ilgauskas 21:48 3-8 3-3 1-4 0 3 9
S Pavlovic 26:55 4-11 0-2 2-4 0 1 10
L Hughes 20:17 0-5 0-0 0-2 2 1 0
D Gibson 31:51 6-12 1-1 0-1 0 3 15
E Snow 10:35 0-1 1-2 1-2 2 0 1
A Varejao 28:22 2-2 4-7 1-10 2 4 8
D Marshall 20:34 1-4 2-2 1-2 3 2 5
Da Jones 15:27 2-4 0-0 1-3 0 0 6
S Pollard 0:55 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
I Newble 0:55 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 0 0

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 33-81 19-29 13-42 15 19 92
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.407, FT-.655. 3-Point Goals:
7-19, .368 (L James 0-2, D Gooden 0-1, S
Pavlovic 2-3, L Hughes 0-1, D Gibson 2-5, D
Marshall 1-3, Da Jones 2-3, I Newble 0-1).
Team Rebounds: 12. Blocked Shots:2 (Z
Ilgauskas, D Gooden). Turnovers:11 (L James
6, S Pavlovic 3, L Hughes 2). Steals: 5 (D
Marshall, L Hughes, S Pavlovic, L James, D
Gibson).


SAN ANTONIO (103)

fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
B Bowen 40:37 1-9 0-0 1-5 0 1 3
T Duncan 35:57 9-16 5-7 4-9 8 4 23
F Oberto 20:19 2-3 0-2 1-4 0 3 4
M Finley 14:36 1-4 0-0 1-1 2 2 2
T Parker 35:43 13-20 3-4 1-4 2 2 30
R Horry 26:26 1-3 2-2 2-9 4 3 5
E Ginobili 28:07 5-11 11-11 0-6 2 5 25
B Barry 11:45 1-6 0-0 0-2 1 0 3
F Elson 13:18 3-3 0-0 2-3 0 3 6
J Vaughn 12:17 1-2 0-0 0-3 2 0 2
B Udrih 0:55 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
M Bonner DNP - COACH'S DECISION

______________________________________________________
TOTALS 240:00 37-77 21-26 12-46 21 23 103
______________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.481, FT-.808. 3-Point Goals:
8-24, .333 (B Bowen 1-6, M Finley 0-3, T
Parker 1-1, R Horry 1-2, E Ginobili 4-6, B
Barry 1-6). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots:6
(R Horry 5, B Bowen). Turnovers:10 (E
Ginobili 3, T Parker 2, B Bowen, F Elson, F
Oberto, M Finley, T Duncan). Steals: 6 (E
Ginobili 3, B Bowen, M Finley, T Parker).

-------------------------------------------
CLEVELAND 17 16 29 30 - 92
SAN ANTONIO 28 30 31 14 - 103
-------------------------------------------

Technical fouls: San Antonio - 1 (F Elson,
0:19 2nd).
Flagrant fouls: None. A: 18,797. T: 2:36.
Officials: Dick Bavetta, Jim Clark, Joe
Derosa.</div>

 

<div class="pre">SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- "King James"? Please. LeBron James is</div>merely a figurehead. The true autocrats of the NBA are the SanAntonio Spurs, who have a dynasty in the making.

Looking razor-sharp on offense and ruthless on defense in avirtually perfect first half, the Spurs staggered James and theCleveland Cavaliers, 103-92, on Sunday, opening a commanding 2-0lead in what is starting to look like a terribly mismatched NBAFinals.

It was the usual suspects for the Spurs, who survived anotherannoying case of the fourth-quarter blahs. They have won eightof their last nine playoff games and are two wins away fromtheir fourth title in nine years. This one might be theireasiest yet.

"We know we can play harder," a discouraged James said.

"Sometimes I don't like to have a 20-point lead," said Spursguard Tony Parker, who has the inside track on the Finals MVP."I'm not going to complain; I'll take it."

The star of Game One, Parker again was unstoppable with 30points on 13-of-20 shooting, most of them layups. Three-timeFinals MVP Tim Duncan again was overwhelming with 23 points,nine rebounds and eight assists.

And when the Cavaliers made a frenetic but fruitless late push,supersub Manu Ginobili stopped it by baiting Daniel Gibson witha four-point play for a 101-89 lead with 2:24 to go. Ginobiliscored 25 points.

"I was feeling good with my shot, so when I saw the rotation wasa little late, I didn't hesitate," Ginobili said.

The terrific trio combined for 43 points in the first half, whenSan Antonio shot a blistering 55 percent (21-of-38) from thefield, battered the boards for a 30-19 advantage and held theCavaliers to 11 baskets, roaring to a 58-33 lead.

"We're still playing the same way," Parker said. "I just thinkwe're doing a better job to take turns, and we're moving theball great and we're just taking great shots."

But it was more than the three-headed monster for the Spurs, whoput on a stunning display of two-way basketball in the firsthalf. Ageless Robert Horry, tracking his seventh championshipring, was everywhere on defense, collecting nine rebounds, threeblocks and a handful of disruptive deflections.

"Robert was our star tonight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said."When somebody comes off the bench and does what Robert did atboth ends of the floor, it was fantastic."

And proud father Bruce Bowen may have been asking James, "Who's<div class="pre">your daddy?" Bowen did another effective job of frustrating the</div>superstar swingman, who created some of his own problems withearly foul trouble and received another hard lesson in whybasketball is a team game.

"We understand he's a talented player," Bowen said. "Andbecause he's talented, he requires the attention he'sreceiving."

James tried to shed the shackles he displayed in Game One,coming out much more aggressive - and paying for it with a pairof fouls less than three minutes into the contest. Cavalierscoach Mike Brown went by the book and sat his superstar, aquestionable decision given the urgency of the situation.

"I did not want to do that to our team nor to LeBron that earlyin the game because I knew we had a ways to go," Brown said.

With James on the bench, the Cavaliers looked lost, diggingthemselves a 28-13 hole. They weren't much better when hereturned in the second period, either, falling behind by 28points in one of the worst first halves in Finals history.

"It was not a good thing for me," James said. "I can't rememberthe last time I didn't play 40-plus minutes. ... It definitelyhurt us."

Among James' lowlights were a traveling violation in transitionand an embarrassing free throw that drew no iron but plenty ofderisive jeers from the 18,797 at the AT&T Center.

James scored 25 points, making 9-of-21 shots and committing sixmore turnovers. He can take solace in the fact that he forcedthe Spurs to finish the game, but not much else.

"I think we realized it was a pride thing," James said.

"In the fourth, LeBron turned the tables and got away from us,"Popovich admitted.

Daniel Gibson scored 15 points for Cleveland, which used a 25-6run to close within eight points in the fourth quarter. But itwas too little, too late.

If we are all witnesses, it may be to a murder. Game Three isTuesday in Cleveland.

"Our effort has to be better, our aggression has to be higher,and we've got to be able to do it and still be poised in thesame breath," Brown said. "We've got to bring the juice, andright now we're not."

The biggest adjustments in a series are made between Games Oneand Two, and the belief was that the Cavs had plenty to make.But Brown indicated otherwise before the game.

"I don't change a lot," he said. "I try to find a rhythm insomething and then stick with it."

James had no rhythm in Game One, often settling for jumpers. Hescored Cleveland's first basket on a follow shot, but wassitting on the bench just over two minutes later aftercommitting a pair of fouls on Duncan.

"I had to sit him," Brown said. "You don't ever want to have tosit him with nine minutes left in the first quarter. But it iswhat it is."

With "The King" off the floor, the Cavs looked like pawns as theSpurs took control of the game, opening a 16-6 lead on atransition layup by the speedy Parker. Cleveland surged backwithout its star, but San Antonio - with Duncan on the bench -replied with a 12-0 burst fueled by Ginobili, building the bulgeto 28-13.

James and Duncan both returned at the start of the secondquarter, but only one star was effective. James missed a jumperand committed a turnover, while Duncan had a pair of bucketsand a free throw that had the Spurs doubling up on the Cavs,38-19, at the TV timeout.

Speaking of TV, when the series finale of "The Sopranos" endedat 10 p.m. EDT, much of America hit the remote and saw SanAntonio whacking Cleveland by the telling score of 45-26. Noone could be faulted for clicking again.