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Spurs grind Jazz to the brink

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Spurs 102, Jazz 90: Game 3

The Spurs’ Tony Parker looks for room around the Jazz’s Devin Harris as Tim Duncan looks on in the first half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Danny Green grabs for a rebound against the Jazz’s Al Jefferson during first half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS) (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Tim Duncan defends the Jazz’s Paul Millsap during first half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS) (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

Members of the Spurs watch first half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round against the Utah Jazz from the bench Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Stephen Jackson looks for room around the Jazz’s Derrick Favors during first half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Tim Duncan rejects the Jazz’s Paul Millsap in the first half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ DeJuan Blair shoots between the Jazz’s Al Jefferson and Gordon Hayward during first half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Tiago Splitter goes for two as the Jazz’s Al Jefferson tries to stop him in the first half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Spurs Manu Ginobili shoots around the Jazz’s Al Jefferson during first half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Boris Diaw shoots around the Jazz’s Josh Howard during first half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ DeJuan Blair shoots between the Jazz’s Gordon Hayward and Al Jefferson during first half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Boris Diaw and Tim Duncan celebrate as they take a commanding lead during the fourth quarter against the Jazz in game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The Spurs won 102-90 and lead the series 3-0. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Manu Ginobili celebrates a basket against the Utah Jazz in the second half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The Spurs won 102-90 and lead the series 3-0. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs Tony Parker passes over Utah Jazz Jamaal Tinsley during second half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Spurs won 102-90. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS) (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Spurs Tiago Splitter shoots around the Jazz’s Jamaal Tinsley during second half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Spurs won 102-90. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Manu Ginobili looks for room around the Jazz’s Gordon Hayward during second half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Spurs won 102-90. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Jazz’s Gordon Hayward runs into the Spurs’ Boris Diaw and Tim Duncan in the second half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The Spurs won 102-90 and lead the series 3-0. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Tony Parker tries to pass the ball out to Tiago Splitter as the Jazz’s, from left, Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward and Paul Millsap crowd him in the second half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The Spurs won 102-90 and lead the series 3-0. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Tim Duncan and Matt Bonner defend the Jazz’s Alec Burks during second half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Spurs won 102-90. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Boris Diaw splits the defense of the Jazz’s Paul Millsap, left, and Al Jefferson in the second half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The Spurs won 102-90 and lead the series 3-0. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Danny Green runs into the Jazz’s Gordon Hayward in the second half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The Spurs won 102-90 and lead the series 3-0. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Tim Duncan and Kawhi Leonard put pressure on the Jazz’s Devin Harris in the first half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Jazz’s Enes Kanter drives to the basket around the Spurs’ Tim Duncan during second half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Spurs won 102-90. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Tim Duncan tries get through the Jazz’s Al Jefferson in the first half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Tiago Splitter looks to pass against the Jazz’s Derrick Favors during second half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Spurs won 102-90. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Matt Bonner gets called for a foul on the Jazz’s Paul Millsap in the first half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Tim Duncan (from left), Danny Green, Stephen Jackson, Tony Parker, and Matt Bonner wait during a timeout during second half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round against the Utah Jazz Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Spurs won 102-90. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Tony Parker looks for room around the Jazz’s Enes Kanter during second half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Spurs won 102-90. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Danny Green tries to get through the Jazz’s Paul Millsap and Gordon Hayward in the first half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Danny Green talks with official Ken Mauer in the first half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The Spurs beat the Utah Jazz 102-90 and lead the series, 3-0. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Tim Duncan looks to pass over the Jazz’s Derrick Favors and Paul Millsap during second half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Spurs won 102-90. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Matt Bonner looks to pass around the Jazz’s Derrick Favors during second half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Spurs won 102-90. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Tim Duncan and Tony Parker slap hands in the first half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The Spurs beat the Utah Jazz 102-90 and lead the series 3-0. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Jazz’s Al Jefferson reacts to a non-call in the second half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The San Antonio Spurs won 102-90 and lead the series 3-0. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Tiago Splitter passes between the Jazz’s Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, and Derrick Favors during second half action of Game 3 of the Western Conference first round Saturday May 5, 2012 at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Spurs won 102-90. EDWARD A. ORNELAS/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (EDWARD A. ORNELAS / SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

The Spurs’ Manu Ginobili passes out to the perimeter as the Jazz’s Gordon Hayward tries to block him in the second half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The Spurs won 102-90 and lead the series 3-0. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Stephen Jackson reacts after shooting a three-pointer in the second half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The Spurs beat the Utah Jazz, 102-90, and lead the series 3-0. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich talks with Tony Parker during a break in the second half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The Spurs beat the Utah Jazz, 102-90, and lead the series 3-0. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich calls play during the second half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The Spurs beat the Utah Jazz, 102-90, and lead the series 3-0. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Tim Duncan reacts to a possession call in the first half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. The Spurs beat the Utah Jazz, 102-90 and take a 3-0 lead in the series. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Tim Duncan talks with DeJuan Blair after Blair was called for a foul in the first half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

The Spurs’ Tony Parker tries to block the Jazz’s Devin Harris in the first half of game three of the Western Conference first round at EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, Saturday, May 5, 2012. Jerry Lara/San Antonio Express-News (Jerry Lara / San Antonio Express-News)

By Jeff McDonald

SALT LAKE CITY — After being blown out in the first two games of their Western Conference first round playoff series against the Spurs, the Utah Jazz vowed to give a more inspired performance in front of their home crowd in Game 3.

And they delivered.

The Spurs vowed to be ready for it. They delivered, too.

Behind 27 points from Tony Parker and 17 from Tim Duncan, the Spurs took Utah’s best punch and survived, grinding out a 102-90 victory that shoved the eighth-seeded Jazz to the edge of elimination.

“The good thing about it was, we didn’t get rattled,” said forward Stephen Jackson, who ended with 13 points off the bench. “We stayed focused on what we needed to do. We just wanted to continue to do what we do.”

A third straight double-digit win in the series was also the hardest-earned for the top-seeded Spurs, who cruised to wins in Games 1 and 2 in San Antonio by an average of 23 points.

The Spurs needed a 16-point fourth quarter explosion from Parker, who adjusted well after the Jazz’s moved the bigger Gordon Hayward to defend him, to beat back Utah’s last-gasp effort.

Saturday’s triumph moved the Spurs to the brink of their first playoff sweep since the 2007 NBA Finals, when they did it to LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers. Dating to the end of the regular season, the Spurs have won 13 games in a row, matching the second-longest winning streak of the Gregg Popovich era.

With another victory in Game 3 on Monday in Utah, the Spurs would head to the second round for just the second time since 2008.

Utah came into the night spouting rhetoric straight out “The Hunger Games — “We’ve got to fight for our lives out there,” Hayward said after morning shootaround.

By Saturday night, when they walked into EnergySolutions Arena, the Spurs were prepared for a cage fight against a wounded animal. Their 31-point victory in Game 2, they stressed, was a thing of the past.

“We know Game 2 isn’t reality,” Manu Ginobili said. “It’s not something that’s going to happen often.”

Heading into Game 3, Popovich telegraphed a simple message to his team, beginning before the charter flight left San Antonio and continuing up until tipoff Saturday.

“Every game is a new animal,” Popovich said. “That’s how you approach it, like there were no games previous and no games after it.”

Utah coach Tyrone Corbin settled on a similar theme for his players.

“It’s a new day,” he said before the game.

For two quarters, the Jazz played as if they believed it.

Utah point guard Devin Harris, who finished with 21 points, had more in the first half of Game 3 (14) as he had combined in Games 1 and 2. With Al Jefferson also finding range on his jumper, and Alec Burks provided a much-needed boost from the bench, Utah hung with the Spurs — and even took an occasional first-half lead.

The Jazz bullied their way into 16 foul shots in the opening two quarters, though they made only eight, and got the Spurs’ frontcourt in foul trouble. When asked to name the Spurs’ most notable adjustment in the second half, Popovich was succinct.

“We stopped fouling,” he said.

At the end of the second quarter, Ginobili took a soft deep pass from Duncan out of a timeout, then scrambled the ball to Matt Bonner in the corner. His buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave the Spurs a 52-50 lead at the end of the best half the Jazz had played in the series.

Utah would lead for all of 53 seconds the rest of the way.

“It was a good one for us,” Duncan said. “We had some times we felt we could have played better, but we expected that from them.”

The Spurs inched out to a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter before Utah made one last desperate push. A Derrick Favors 7-foot jumper brought the Jazz within 8:25 left. Over the next 5:14, Parker took over, engineering a 13-4 run that returned the Spurs collective foot back on Utah’s throats.

On Monday, the Spurs will attempt to do it one more time.

“We can’t be satisfied with ourselves,” Parker said. “Make sure we keep the same mentality. Keep playing well. Keep playing with a lot of energy.”

jmcdonald@express-news.net
Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN

SPURS LEAD BEST-OF-7 SERIES 3-0

Game 1:

Game 2:

Game 3

Game 4: Monday: Spurs @Jazz, 7 p.m.
TV: FSNSW, TBD Radio: WOAI-AM 1200; KCOR-AM 1350?

* Game 5: Wednesday: Jazz @Spurs, TBD
TV: FSNSW, TBD Radio: WOAI-AM 1200; KCOR-AM 1350?

* Game 6: May 11: Spurs @Jazz, TBD
TV: FSNSW, TBD Radio: WOAI-AM 1200; KCOR-AM 1350?

* Game 7: May 13: Jazz @Spurs, TBD
TV: TBD Radio: WOAI-AM 1200; KCOR-AM 1350?

* — As needed in best-of-7 series

Spurs fear a lack of fear itself

By Jeff McDonald

SALT LAKE CITY — For two games in their Western Conference first-round series against Utah, the Spurs have successfully guarded against Al Jefferson’s repertoire of herky-jerky post moves.

They have guarded against Devin Harris’ quickness and Paul Millsap’s blue-collar ruggedness.

Tonight, as the series shifts to rowdy EnergySolutions Arena with the top-seeded Spurs up 2-0 and solidly in command, they are poised to come face-to-face with their most formidable foe yet in these playoffs.

Overconfidence.

“From game to game, there’s always a danger of letdowns,” said Tim Duncan, the Spurs’ 36-year-old captain. “We’re going to fight against that, but there’s no promises in any way.”

In their quest to put a lock on the series, it seems the only thing the Spurs have to fear now is the lack of fear itself.

The Spurs won the first two games by a staggering total of 46 points. Their 106-91 victory in Game 1 looked like a nail-biter compared to the 114-83 ransacking the Spurs delivered in Game 2.

The 31-point margin in Game 2 marked the Spurs’ third-largest win in team playoff history. For Utah, it was the franchise’s second-worst postseason defeat, surpassed in humiliation ?only by a 96-54 loss to Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls in Game 3 of the 1998 NBA Finals.

How each team responds now will determine how much life is left in this series.

“It’s easy to fold your tent,” Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. “But fight is fight, and competitors compete. Guys who want to quit will quit.”

So far, the Spurs have treated the eighth-seeded Jazz like a D-League team, with All-Star point guard Tony Parker obliterating Utah’s backcourt en route to a combined 46 points and 17 assists. Their Duncan-led frontcourt has outplayed Jefferson and Millsap in helping post a 120-80 edge in paint points.

In Game 2, the Spurs were ahead 20-8 before star sixth man Manu Ginobili had even stripped off his warmups.

It speaks to the Spurs’ sense of professionalism and self-restraint that they haven’t yet begun planning dinner reservations in Memphis or Los Angeles.

“What I see is ultimate focus,” forward Stephen Jackson said. “Nobody is talking about the next series. Everyone is focused about what’s in front of us.”

The Spurs’ battle against overconfidence began before coach Gregg Popovich left the interview podium after Wednesday’s Game 2 romp, when he reminded that the runaway victory was “nothing to be satisfied about.”

In Utah, the Spurs are expecting to find a different Jazz team than the one that presented so little resistance in San Antonio.

“I know Pop’s really antsy about us coming out and getting jumped on,” Duncan said.

If nothing else, the Spurs are anticipating an amped-up performance from the Utah crowd, generally considered one of the NBA’s most rambunctious.

Those who were around in 2007 haven’t forgotten the Spurs’ last trip to Salt Lake for a playoff game, when players and coaches exited the court to a hail of debris after a Game 4 victory in that year’s Western Conference finals.

“They’re going to play even harder, with a great atmosphere,” said Ginobili, one of the few Spurs yet to find his footing. “They’re going to be fired up. Hopefully, we don’t relax and keep fighting.”

Down 2-0 in a series against a Spurs team that hasn’t lost a game since April 11, the Jazz would love to have such worries.

Their mission now, as impossible as anything Tom Cruise ever tried: Win four out of five against a Spurs team that has only lost three times since March 9.

“We’re fighting for our lives,” Utah forward Gordon Hayward said.

To stay alive, the Jazz will make adjustments. They will feed Jefferson in the post. They will rely on Harris’ quickness, and Millsap’s ruggedness.

In the end, however, Utah’s best hope for survival might be out of its hands. Ultimately, Game 3 could come down to how well the Spurs handle their own prosperity.

jmcdonald@express-news.net
Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN

SPURS LEAD BEST-OF-7 SERIES 2-0

Game 1:

Game 2:

Game 3 Saturday: Spurs @Jazz, 9 p.m.
TV: FSNSW, TNT Radio: WOAI-AM 1200; KCOR-AM 1350?

Game 4 Monday: Spurs @Jazz, TBD
TV: FSNSW, TBD Radio: WOAI-AM 1200; KCOR-AM 1350?

* Game 5 Wednesday: Jazz @Spurs, TBD
TV: FSNSW, TBD Radio: WOAI-AM 1200; KCOR-AM 1350?

* Game 6 May 11: Spurs @Jazz, TBD
TV: FSNSW, TBD Radio: WOAI-AM 1200; KCOR-AM 1350?

* Game 7 May 13: Jazz @Spurs, TBD
TV: TBD Radio: WOAI-AM 1200; KCOR-AM 1350?

* — As needed in best-of-7 series

Parker v. Harris: A playoff rivalry renewed

By Jeff McDonald

It would probably be overstatement to say Tony Parker still has nightmares about Devin Harris.

But Parker does recall the playoff series Harris had with Dallas in 2006, and the way it ruined one of the most promising of Spurs seasons.

Harris returns to the ATT Center as Utah’s starting point guard on Sunday, when the Spurs and Jazz open a first-round series. The last time Harris was here in the playoffs, he was carving the Spurs up in the 2006 Western Conference semifinals.

“With Dallas, he was like a young buck,” Parker recalled Saturday. “He was playing with a lot of energy. He, like, had no conscience. Now he’s like running the team. It’s a little different, but he’s doing a good job.”

Harris, then in his second season out of Wisconsin, averaged 12.7 in the Mavs’ seven-game series victory. He averaged nearly 21 points in Games 2, 3, 4, all of which Dallas won to take an insurmountable series lead.

Josh Howard, another key member of the 2006 Mavericks, is now on the Utah roster as well.

The Mavericks went on to the NBA Finals, where the lost to Miami. The Spurs went home in the second round after winning 63 games in the regular season.

That series was fresh in the Spurs’ mind in February of 2008, when Dallas traded Harris to New Jersey as part of the Jason Kidd deal. Then, Parker suggested he was happy to have Harris out of the Western Conference.

“To be honest with you, I’m really happy for that trade,” Parker said at the time.

Harris hasn’t quite lived up to that promise since, though he did earn an All-Star nod in 2008-09 with the Nets before coming to Utah in the Deron Williams trade.

Parker, meanwhile, has earned three more All-Star berths plus an NBA Finals MVP in 2007, and is playing perhaps the best basketball of his life this season.

Harris, 29, averaged 11.3 points and five assists in the regular season. As his 2006 run against the Spurs reminds, he still has the potential to cause problems for a playoff opponent.

“You have to slow him down, try to contain him and find him in transition,” Parker said. “We know if he gets going, he can cause us a lot of trouble.”