It was a pass that would have made Jason Kidd proud, if it had been Kidd who had thrown it. But it wasn’t Kidd, it was Duncan — and it put a flourish of a finish on a decisive third-quarter run that led San Antonio to a 101-89 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
San Antonio outscored the Nets 32-17 in the third period to break open a close game, with Duncan’s long pass capping a 15-2 run.
Unlike five previous times in this postseason, the Spurs managed to hang onto that double-digit lead, although the Nets did manage to get within nine points.
Duncan had a stat line worthy of his MVP status with 32 points, 20 rebounds, seven blocks, six assists and three steals as San Antonio snapped the Nets’ 10-game postseason winning streak and handed them their first loss in 39 days.
Duncan’s third-quarter line of 13 points on 4-for-4 shooting, five rebounds, three assists and two steals was spectacular all by itself. He missed his first shot of the fourth and then made his next four.
San Antonio also got an unexpectedly strong contribution from David Robinson (14 points, six rebounds and four blocks), along with an effort from Tony Parker that was better than Kidd’s.
