Through nearly 40 minutes, the Utah Jazz made Tony Parker look average.
He had 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting, and the San Antonio Spurs were clinging to a five-point lead.
Parker the MVP candidate then took over.
''They threw a lot of guys at me, so I needed to be more patient and then in the fourth quarter I was more aggressive,'' said Parker, who hit all five field goals and went 6 of 6 from the line in the final period to finish with 27 points.
His effort fueled a 102-90 victory Saturday night that gave the Spurs a 3-0 lead in the first-round Western Conference playoff series.
No NBA team has ever overcome an 0-3 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. The Spurs can close it out Monday night in Salt Lake City.
''My guys are experienced to realize an NBA game is 48 minutes. Anything can happen,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ''You can look at the other games and other series and realize you don't stop playing. They stick with each other and the system. That experience is something they have gained over a long period of time and they feel comfortable with each other, even in a tough environment like we had here tonight.''
A sellout crowd of 19,911 was energized from the start, standing from pregame festivities that saw a massive green-and-yellow balloon drop.
The fans were on their feet again when a young Utah lineup brought the Jazz back after they trailed by 13 in the fourth.
DeMarre Carroll scored on a putback, rookie Alec Burks sank a pair of free throws and Derrick Favors scored after grabbing another offensive rebound to get Utah to 81-74 with 8:58 remaining. Favors then hit a 7-footer to make it a five-point game.
To sum it up here this series is pretty much over the spurs need the next game a win for series win.
He had 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting, and the San Antonio Spurs were clinging to a five-point lead.
Parker the MVP candidate then took over.
''They threw a lot of guys at me, so I needed to be more patient and then in the fourth quarter I was more aggressive,'' said Parker, who hit all five field goals and went 6 of 6 from the line in the final period to finish with 27 points.
His effort fueled a 102-90 victory Saturday night that gave the Spurs a 3-0 lead in the first-round Western Conference playoff series.
No NBA team has ever overcome an 0-3 deficit to win a best-of-seven series. The Spurs can close it out Monday night in Salt Lake City.
''My guys are experienced to realize an NBA game is 48 minutes. Anything can happen,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ''You can look at the other games and other series and realize you don't stop playing. They stick with each other and the system. That experience is something they have gained over a long period of time and they feel comfortable with each other, even in a tough environment like we had here tonight.''
A sellout crowd of 19,911 was energized from the start, standing from pregame festivities that saw a massive green-and-yellow balloon drop.
The fans were on their feet again when a young Utah lineup brought the Jazz back after they trailed by 13 in the fourth.
DeMarre Carroll scored on a putback, rookie Alec Burks sank a pair of free throws and Derrick Favors scored after grabbing another offensive rebound to get Utah to 81-74 with 8:58 remaining. Favors then hit a 7-footer to make it a five-point game.
To sum it up here this series is pretty much over the spurs need the next game a win for series win.