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Duncan, Spurs aim to increase their advantage against Jazz

May 22, 2007 - 1:04 PM Utah at San Antonio 9:00 pm EDT Western Conference Finals Game Three SAN ANTONIO (Ticker) -- Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs just want to hold serve. The Utah Jazz look to join the battle.

Duncan and the Spurs aim to go up 2-0 in the Western Conference finals vs. the Jazz on Tuesday.

San Antonio defeated Utah, 108-100, on Sunday to take Game One of the series, beating the Jazz for the 17th straight time at home. Duncan had 27 points, 10 rebounds and five assists for the Spurs, who just finished an emotional seven-game series with the Phoenix Suns.

Manu Ginobili added 23 points and a playoff career-high 10 assists while Tony Parker chipped in with 21 and six. The San Antonio defense clamped down on All-Stars Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur, holding the frontcourt duo to 30 points on 10-of-32 shooting.

The Spurs could not hold down budding All-Star Deron Williams, who torched them for 34 points, including 18 in the fourth period to help cut the Utah deficit to under double digits.

Since Duncan entered the NBA in 1997-98, San Antonio is 11-1 in playoff situations when it wins the first two games. The only negative is a Western semifinal loss in six games to the Los Angeles Lakers after winning the first two at home.

Before this season, history was also not on the side of Utah as well. The Jazz were down two games and all 10 times Utah was eliminated in that series. However, the Jazz dropped the first two to the Houston Rockets in the first round this year, only to rebound and win in seven games.