Seattle Times Percy Allen Column: Spurs Clearly Control Finals

Jun 11, 10:48 AM

Current Headlines: By Percy Allen, Seattle Times

Jun. 11--SAN ANTONIO -- Two games into the NBA Finals and LeBron James has yet to show up, the San Antonio Spurs have yet to be tested and the Cleveland Cavaliers have yet to prove to anyone that this series won't end in a sweep Thursday.

Perhaps the sellout AT&T Center crowd, which cheered like maniacs from tipoff to final buzzer, sensed it would never see its team again this season. Maybe the fans knew what the rest of us already know.

This series is over.

The Spurs' 103-92 victory Sunday gives them a 2-0 lead, and technically they need two more victories to claim the title. However, the Cavs have given no indication they're capable of competing at a championship level.

"We don't think about sweeps or anything like that," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We always plan for long and drawn-out series. If a series ends up not being that, that's great, but we plan for a seven all the time."

Pack light, Pop.

While it's true Cleveland dug out of a 2-0 deficit in the Eastern Conference and won four straight games, what needs to be remembered is the Spurs, led by Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, are a far superior team than the Detroit Pistons.

"It's just an upgrade from series to series, you know, from the first round to the second round, conference finals and then to the Finals it's an upgrade," James said. "The intensity level automatically picks up."

James was better than he was in the first game when he scored 14 points. This time he had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists. But he also had six turnovers and, even more damaging, he collected his second foul with 9:05 remaining in the first quarter and was forced to sit most of the first half.

Without James, San Antonio built a 25-point halftime lead and was up by 27 going into the fourth quarter. At that point, the Spurs shifted to cruise control, while the Cavs made a spirited run that proved to be too little, too late.

Reserve guard Daniel Gibson made a layup to bring Cleveland to an eight-point deficit with 3:21 left, and the Cavs had a chance to get closer before James committed his final turnover with 2:45 left.

The miscue proved huge, as Ginobili buried a three-pointer while getting fouled and hit the free throw for a four-point play to give San Antonio a 12-point edge. The Spurs made just one basket after that, but then again, they didn't have to score much.

Not when their defense held the Cavs to 40.7 percent shooting (33 of 81) from the field. Not when three-fifths of Cleveland's starting lineup (Larry Hughes, Sasha Pavlovic and Zydrunas Ilgauskas) is overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the Finals. Hughes was scoreless and appears to have mentally checked out, while his replacement, Gibson, finished with 15 points.

But there's one of the major differences separating the Spurs and the Cavs.

James' supporting cast is scoring in the teens, while the Spurs are led by their Big Three.

Duncan (23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists) was brilliant. Parker (30 points) is making a strong case for MVP honors. And Ginobili (25 points and six rebounds) proved to be the X-factor for which there was no answer.

Making matters worse for Cleveland, the Spurs received a surprising defensive effort from reserve forward Robert Horry, who had a game-high five blocked shots. The 37-year-old, who's seeking his seventh title, also had nine rebounds and four assists.

"Robert was our star tonight," Popovich said. "I mean, I know that Tony and Manu scored and Tim scored and that sort of thing and ... you take those kind of guys for granted. But when somebody comes off the bench and does what Robert did at both ends of the floor, it was fantastic."

Said Horry: "They're going to play much better at home. You know LeBron is going to step up and bring his 'A' game."

We haven't seen it yet.

In Game 1, James was passive and deferred too often. In Game 2, he was aggressive and tried too hard.

Anything short of a miraculous effort in Games 3 and 4 and Cleveland's first trip to the Finals will be remembered as a colossal failure.

"There's nothing magical that's going to help us out on the floor," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "It's as simple as that. There's no magic play, magic defense. This is a good team and we've got to bring the juice. And right now we're not."

These Finals were supposed to be the series in which the NBA was going to coronate a new king.

Instead, San Antonio is two victories away from winning its fourth title in franchise history and cementing itself as a dynasty.

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com

San Antonio at Cleveland

Tuesday, 6 p.m., Ch. 4

-----

To see more of The Seattle Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.seattletimes.com.

Copyright (c) 2007, Seattle Times

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.