NBA FINALS Spurs outlast Nets in sloppy game for 2-1 series lead

Tony Parker and Tim Duncan led the way for San Antonio's 84-79 win.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- At times during Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Tim Duncan wanted to avert his eyes from the turnovers, the missed shots and the general lousiness of play.
In the third quarter, the two-time MVP looked away for a different reason: to deliver an exceptional blind pass while leading the San Antonio Spurs' fast break.
Duncan provided a spot of beauty in the very definition of an ugly win. He did it with another big assist from the best point guard so far in the finals.
Tony Parker scored 26 points, and Duncan had 21 points and 16 rebounds as the Spurs overcame one of the most pitiful offensive games in finals history to beat the New Jersey Nets 84-79 on Sunday night, taking a 2-1 lead in the series.
Game's negatives
Duncan's flair and Parker's four clutch 3-pointers aside, there wasn't a lot of artistic flavor in the game that featured 37 turnovers, 43 fouls and the lowest-scoring first half in finals history.
Only the highlights were choice: Malik Rose's breathtaking dunk over Dikembe Mutombo, Kenyon Martin's arena-rattling rebound slam -- and Duncan's slick pass, which would be inconceivable for almost any other 7-footer but the one halfway to his second championship ring.
"We were a little bit sloppy in the first half," Duncan said with delicate understatement. "[But] I love to be in the open court. It's fun to get up and down a little bit. Whenever I can get somebody to finish a play, it's great."
Martin had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets, who disappointed their home fans -- accustomed to seeing them dispatch nearly every East opponent in the postseason -- with a tepid performance.
Kidd contained
Parker outplayed Jason Kidd for the second time in the series' three games, holding New Jersey's heart and soul to 6-of-19 shooting and four turnovers. Kidd's struggles and the Nets' ineptitude were functions of the Spurs' tough defense, which held New Jersey to nine points in the second quarter.
From there, the outcome never really seemed in doubt, though New Jersey pulled within two points in the final minutes.
"We could never get that one last push to get back at them," said Kerry Kittles, who scored 21 points for New Jersey. "It was frustrating. The fourth quarter was right there for us. They did a good job late in the game of making plays, and we didn't."
Impressive defense
The optimist watching this series would see impressive defense as the trend emerging from three decidedly untidy games. A pessimist might just call it bad basketball.
The Spurs have made 51 turnovers in the series, which has prompted coach Gregg Popovich to completely ignore the statistic when addressing his team -- and the Nets made 20 turnovers in Game 3, often leaving coach Byron Scott with a painful grin on the sideline.
"We probably pressed a little bit," Scott said. "It's going to be like this the rest of the series. Both teams are physical, both teams are aggressive. Both teams take a lot of pride in their defense, so it's not going to be a lot of high-scoring games."