Duncan happy to let Ginobili play hero’s role

SAN ANTONIO - The sweat had barely dried on the Spurs’ 117-115 instant-classic victory over Phoenix on Saturday — a four-quarter, two-overtime carnival of circus shots and can-you-top-this — when Tim Duncan came to a jarring realization.

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If the Spurs aimed to survive their Western Conference first-round series with the Suns, they were going to have to win three more of these things.

“It felt like a Finals game,” said Duncan, the Spurs’ All-Star forward. “But it’s only the first game of the first series.”

With Game 2 not scheduled until Tuesday, Sunday provided an already much-needed respite in a series that, before it is over, might be considered a leading cause of heart disease.

For the Spurs, winning Game 1 proved tricky enough.

They needed not one, but two Hail-Mary 3-pointers — one from Michael Finley and one from Duncan — to force each overtime. After Phoenix’s Steve Nash meant to return the favor with a floating 3-point rainbow that tied the game late in the second OT, Manu Ginobili won it on a driving bank shot with 1.8 seconds left.

Duncan scored 40 points, his best performance in almost two years. By that point, however, he was willing to concede the game-winner to Ginobili.

“My legs were dead,” Duncan said. “I was more than happy to stand down there and hope he made it.”

Duncan and the Spurs took Sunday to catch their breath, forgoing a practice session altogether. It was probably a wise move for the NBA’s oldest team, coming off only the second double-overtime playoff game in franchise history.

Duncan played nearly 51 minutes in Game 1, 17 more than his average. Tony Parker played 51 minutes, 28 seconds before fouling out. Michael Finley logged more than 48 minutes, Ginobili 45.

The Spurs’ veterans no doubt felt the added workload. As Duncan rose from his chair after his post-game press briefing, he elicited a weary groan that made him sound 31-going-on-51.

“You would hope the rest of the games are just normal games and someone wins and someone loses,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “That’s enough to kill you if every game is like that.”

The Spurs used Sunday as a day of rest. For the Suns, it was something else entirely.

“A day of mourning,” Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni said, though he was laughing as he said it.

The Suns chose to practice, and though several of their players had also put an extra helping of minutes on their legs the day before, nobody was asking about their physical health.

The line of questioning Phoenix players faced most from the gathered media was more concerned with the team’s mental well-being.

The Suns have dropped 13 of their past 17 playoff games against the Spurs, many of them in similarly gut-wrenching fashion. On Saturday, they never trailed until the 2:36 mark of the fourth quarter, and squandered at least five decent chances to finish the Spurs off.

Suns guard Raja Bell, over whom Ginobili made his game-winning banker, got a head start on drowning his sorrows. He had a couple of beers with his Saturday night dinner.

By Sunday morning, Bell was over it.

As for questions about the Suns’ mental state heading into Game 2, Bell says his team is doing just fine, thank you. Nobody has jumped off the Tower of Americas just yet.

“I don’t think it’s a psychological kick in the groin or anything like that,” Bell said. “We would have liked to have won that game. We were in a great position, we had done a lot of good work early in the game, and we let it slip away. But I don’t think any of us are hung up on it.”

The Spurs went to bed Saturday night pleased at the mental toughness that had salvaged Game 1. The Suns awoke Sunday morning happy they had outplayed their eternal nemeses for long stretches on the Spurs’ home court.

“I do think, you know what, we’re the better team,” D’Antoni said. “We’ve got to prove it, though.”

It seems that after a night to sleep on it, the Suns have come to the same conclusion Duncan had already reached.

What happened to them Saturday only counts as one loss. Even if it felt like they played about four games in one.

“It’s a long series,” D’Antoni said.

And it’s just getting started.