NOTEBOOK From the NBA Finals

Block party: Tim Duncan and David Robinson controlled the paint, allowing the Spurs to take early control. Led by their tandem of 7-footers, the Spurs fell just short of a finals record with 12 blocked shots. Duncan finished with seven blocks, including three in the first quarter and three more in the fourth. The finals record for blocks in a game by one player is eight -- and it's been done four times, most recently by the Lakers' Shaquille O'Neal in Game 2 of the finals June 8, 2001. The Spurs' 12 blocks were one short of the NBA Finals record that's been reached six times, most recently by the Lakers against Philadelphia in Game 2 of the 2001 series. Robinson blocked four shots, and 5-foot-11 point guard Speedy Claxton had the Spurs' other block.
Doc and Ice: The hair is shorter and the shorts are longer these days, but there was an ABA flair thanks to two stars of the rival league's heyday. Using a red, white and blue ball, Hall of Famers George Gervin and Julius Erving participated in a ceremonial tip-off. It's the first finals between two former teams from the rambunctious circuit that helped redefine basketball. Gervin was San Antonio's beloved "Iceman," while Erving won three Most Valuable Player awards with the Nets. They met as teammates on the ABA's Virginia Squires, and they developed a long-standing rivalry that blossomed into a friendship. Gervin and Erving began their Hall of Fame careers with the Squires -- though Erving didn't quite know what to make of Gervin when the rookie guard joined the team midway through the 1972-73 season. San Antonio and the Nets last met in a playoff series in 1976, with Erving's Nets beating Gervin's Spurs in seven games.
Different Nets: Even before the opening tip and the Nets' fast start, New Jersey coach Byron Scott was sure his team had made big strides from last season's appearance in the NBA Finals. "Last year, first game, [they were] just looking like, 'This is unbelievable,' like they were just happy to be here," Scott said. "I don't see that this year. I see a group of confident young men. We have a great opportunity to win a championship, and that's how we're looking at it." The Nets fell behind by 23 early in Game 1 of last season's finals against the Los Angeles Lakers. New Jersey got blown out by 23 in Game 2, then blew a fourth-quarter lead in Game 3 before the Lakers completed the sweep.
-- Associated Press