NBA WESTERN FINALS Stopping Duncan is priority if Mavs are to beat Spurs

The league MVP scored 37 points in Game 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- After speeding up their offense against Los Angeles to make Shaquille O'Neal work on defense, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich was asked if the Spurs would slow down against Dallas in the Western Conference finals.
"No, we're a run-and-gun team. Nelly knows that," Popovich said joking Sunday as the Spurs prepared for Game 1 tonight.
Nelly is Dallas coach Don Nelson, who Popovich served under as assistant for two years at Golden State.
And, of course, it's the Mavericks who are the runners and the gunners. San Antonio relies on franchise player Tim Duncan and his gang of helpers.
If the 7-foot Duncan is double- or triple-teamed, as he was by Phoenix in the first round, the ball gets worked around to outside shooters Stephen Jackson and Bruce Bowen, to penetrators Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, or to 7-footer David Robinson underneath.
If Duncan is left in single coverage, as he mostly was against the Lakers in the second round, he'll patiently draw from a deep reservoir of postup moves to score himself.
So how will Dallas defend Duncan, who had 37 points and 16 rebounds in the deciding Game 6 against Los Angeles.
"Carefully," Nelson said. "There's a lot of different ways you can play a great player like that. By the time the series is over, we'll probably try every one possible."
Swarm expected
The Spurs are expecting the Mavericks, who don't have a dominant big defender, to swarm Duncan.
"I think they're going to try to double or triple-team Timmy," said Parker, who backed up Duncan with 27 points in the 110-82 series-ending game against the Lakers. "They're not going to let Timmy go like the Lakers did, that's for sure."
Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki, who'll share the chore of defending Duncan, said the Mavs will put their zone defense to good use.
"Our man-to-man hasn't been that solid," said Nowitzki, who finished with 30 points and 19 rebounds Saturday in Game 7 against Sacramento.
"The zone really gives [7-foot-6] Shawn Bradley the chance to be a presence in the middle."
At the other end of the court, the Spurs -- who play little zone -- will have their hands full trying to keep up with the frenetic Dallas offense, which has averaged 107.4 points in its 14 games during the postseason.
From Nowitzki's face-up game to Steve Nash's directionless dribbling to Michael Finley's all-around offensive talent to Nick Van Exel's explosiveness off the bench, the Mavericks have countless ways to turn a showdown into a shootout.
"We're very confident with ourselves," said Van Exel, who averaged 25.3 points against the Kings. "We've got swagger."