TheSpread

Can They Recover?

After many of his teammates had left the court on Monday afternoon, Tim Duncan was still there, headphones on, taking jumper after jumper.

They weren't from beyond the 3-point line.

``I don't believe there's going to be a whole lot of 3-point shooting,'' Duncan laughed. ``I'm not going to change my game a whole lot. I'm happy that that one went down but I'm not going to rest anything on that.''

Duncan's first 3-pointer of the season that forced a second overtime was just one of the things that fell into place for the Spurs in their Game 1 win Saturday over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday.

It took two overtimes and a couple of other big shots - plus foul trouble for the Suns - for them to get the 117-115 win in the opener of the best-of-seven series.

``It's just that. We won in double overtime on our home court, so we're not too confident,'' said Duncan, who finished with 40 points and 15 rebounds. ``We got over the top by just a little bit and we know they're one heck of a team.

``I've got to imagine they felt like they gave the game away,'' Duncan said.

The Spurs have no illusions they've gotten into the Suns' heads.

``Of course they're not shaken,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ``They lost one game and anybody could have won the game. So it's not that big a deal in that sense. ... We were fortunate in the first game. That's gone and now it's Game 2.''

That will be Tuesday night in San Antonio.

Oddsmakers from Sportsbook.com have made San Antonio –1.5 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 192 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 58% of bets for this game have been placed on Phoenix +1.5 (View NBA Bet Percentages). Bet this game.

Even if the Spurs got some breaks before Manu Ginobili's driving layup with 1.8 seconds left gave them the 58-minute victory, they also played a big part in their own success. After trailing by as many as 16 points in the first half and shooting 38 percent, they shot better than 58 percent after halftime, hit five 3s and outrebounded the Suns 25-18.

``We had a lot of mistakes, a lot of mistakes that if we continue to make they will hurt us,'' said Spurs guard Michael Finley, who hit a 3 with 15 seconds left in regulation to force the first overtime. ``So we want to limit those mistakes, execute a little bit better on the offensive end and if we do that, we give ourselves another good chance to win that ballgame.''

The Suns will be tweaking their plan with a focus on closing out the game. And they'll go back to Arizona happy if they can take away the Spurs' homecourt advantage.

``I think it's imperative for them to win. You've got to keep your homecourt in tact,'' Suns coach Mike D'Antoni said, before reconsidering. ``But knowing these two teams, it's not imperative for either one of them actually because everybody's going to bounce back. Every game is an adventure in itself.''

Saturday's will be hard to top, but in Game 2 fans might finally see more of the inside matchup between Duncan and the Suns' Shaquille O'Neal, who spent a lot of time on the bench in Game 1 because of foul trouble.

``I expect them to make a lot of adjustments,'' Duncan said. ``That's what a series is all about.''

Both teams said their injuries are improved since Saturday and that their energy should be back up with two days' rest after the lengthy opening game.

``After 51 minutes I need about four days off but it's great that we're not just playing on one day's rest,'' Duncan said.

The Spurs' Tony Parker, who was knocked hard in the head in Game 1, said he was feeling fine Monday.

D'Antoni said Grant Hill, who has suffered from a groin injury, should be 100 percent for Tuesday. And he said Steve Nash, who had the flu, is fully recovered.