SAN ANTONIO — The rebound came off the rim, Tim Duncan grabbed it and fired a 60-foot pass ahead of the field to Stephen Jackson for an uncontested dunk.
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.
Kidd made his first two shots and missed his next 10 before breaking the slump midway through the third quarter on a driving layup. His next shot, however, was an airball. From there, Kidd was not a factor. Kenyon Martin also was a non-entity, sitting for a 7 1/2-minute stretch because of four fouls.
By the time Martin returned, the Spurs led 82-66 with 6:56 left, and it was too late. New Jersey got within nine with 2:23 left, but Duncan fed Robinson for a dunk and then blocked his sixth shot, ending the threat.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Friday night.
Martin led New Jersey with 21 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out with 1:11 left. Kidd had 10 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds but shot just 4-for-17.
Parker scored 16 points with five assists, while Malik Rose and Jackson added 12 points each.
Most importantly, the Spurs kept the Nets out of their running game a vast majority of the time. Kidd had three turnovers in the first quarter trying to force the issue, and he wasn't the same after that.
The game was tied 42-42 at halftime, and the Spurs had the first big run of the game early in the second half, with Parker leading the way.
Parker hit a 21-foot jumper and a 3-pointer before feeding a pass to Duncan for a low-arcing jumper than gave San Antonio the game's first double-digit lead — 58-48 with 7:27 left in the third quarter.
San Antonio dropped into a zone defense after a timeout, and it befuddled the Nets. Duncan had a steal and then made two free throws and an 8-foot turnaround before he rebounded Rodney Rogers' missed jumper and fired a two-handed pass ahead of everyone to Jackson for a dunk that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Martin picked up his second foul — a block against Parker — and went to the bench with 1:35 left in the first quarter and New Jersey ahead 17-15. Duncan finished the quarter with just two points, to go along with three blocks and seven rebounds. Kidd made his first two shots but missed his final four of the quarter. He missed all five he took in the second quarter
After backup center Aaron Williams picked up his second foul early in the second quarter, little-used but highly paid veteran Dikembe Mutombo checked in for his first game action since May 9.
Several of the Nets bounded off the bench and patted Mutombo on the back after he blocked Duncan's shot and dived on the floor to retrieve the ball and call a timeout.
NOTES: Julius "Dr. J." Erving and George "Ice" Gervin took part in a ceremonial opening tip using a red, white and blue ball. This is the first time two former ABA teams have competed against each other in the finals . . . The Nets and Spurs went 30-30 against each other over the years in the ABA playoffs . . . A fan brought a sign that read: "Hey, Shaq and Kobe, Need Tickets?" . . . Danny Ferry played only the final 0.4 seconds of the first half.