By Paul Levine Apr 23, 2006, 13:45 GMT
Los Angeles - 'The French Flash' wasted no time speeding past the Sacramento Kings.
Frenchman Tony Parker scored 23 of his 25 points in a scorching first half Saturday night as the San Antonio Spurs began defence of their NBA title with a convincing 122-88 home victory over the Kings in Game One of their Western Conference first-round series.
'This is the playoffs and everybody is motivated,' Parker said. 'In 2004, when we were defending the title, we got experience from that. I think everybody is ready.'
In his fifth season, Parker supplanted superstar Tim Duncan as the Spurs' leading scorer and made the All-Star team for the first time. His quickness and ability to get to the rim have made him one of the top point guards in the game.
Earlier this month, Parker was outplayed by Mike Bibby in a home loss to the Kings. He atoned for that performance by sparking the Spurs to their best first half of the season.
'We remembered how we played in the regular season the last game we played them,' Parker said. 'They kicked our butt. Mike Bibby had a great game. We made sure we played a better game and better defence tonight.'
Playing before a crowd of 18,797 at the AT&T Centre that included celebrity girlfriend Eva Longoria, Parker made 9-of-11 shots in the first half as he repeatedly got inside the porous defence of the Kings.
Led by Parker, the top-seeded Spurs shot a team playoff-record 68 per cent (26-of-38) from the field and sped to a 73-39 halftime lead. San Antonio outscored Sacramento, 41-15, in the second quarter.
'We were fortunate to start the game making a lot of shots,' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. 'We were able to jump on them. Obviously that's not going to happen often. We were able to take advantage tonight and it worked out for us.'
'In the second quarter, they shot the ball so well and it just snowballed from there,' Kings coach Rick Adelman said. 'We got impatient on offence and that played into their hands. ... In the first half they picked us apart.'
It did not get much better in the second half, when the Kings trailed by as many as 37 points and got no closer than 24. They suffered their worst playoff loss since a 30-point defeat to Utah in 1999.
'I don't know anyone who likes to lose, but to be embarrassed like that on national television hurts even more,' said Bibby, who led the Kings with 17 points. 'I know we're better than how we played tonight.'
The eighth-seeded Kings will get a chance to prove that in Game Two at San Antonio on Tuesday. They will have to shore up their defence and get more out of star forward Ron Artest, who scored 16 points on 7-of-21 shooting.
Nazr Mohammed scored 18 points for the Spurs, who dominated every aspect of the game. They had seven players in double figures, shot 57.5 per cent (42-of-73) and held a 51-32 advantage in rebounds.
San Antonio won easily despite a quiet game from Duncan, who had 11 points and seven rebounds in just 24-plus minutes.
'It started from horn to horn,' Duncan said. 'We shot the ball well. We moved the ball well. Our defence was solid.'
Elsewhere:
Cleveland Cavaliers 97, Washington Wizards 86:
LeBron James became the first player since Magic Johnson in 1980 to notch a triple-double in his playoff debut as the fourth-seeded Cavaliers cruised at home against the fifth-seeded Wizards.
The 21-year-old James collected 32 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists to pace Cleveland, which led by double digits for most of its first post season game since 1998.
'I had no idea that (James) had a triple-double,' Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. 'He never ceases to amaze me. The things that he does offensively just blow you away.'
Gilbert Arenas scored 17 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter for the Wizards, who will try to get even at Cleveland on Tuesday.
Miami Heat 111, Chicago Bulls 106:
At Miami, the second-seeded Heat recovered after blowing a fourth-quarter lead as Dwyane Wade scored 14 of his 30 points in the final period.
Shaquille O'Neal had 27 points and 16 boards for Miami, which lost forward Udonis Haslem to a second-quarter ejection. Upset at not receiving a call, Haslem threw his mouthpiece at referee Joey Crawford and immediately was thrown out of the contest.
Ben Gordon scored 35 points for the seventh-seeded Bulls, who made 13-of-26 3-pointers and will try to square the series in Miami on Monday.
LA Clippers 89, Denver Nuggets 87:
The sixth-seeded Clippers squandered a 10-point fourth-quarter lead but got a pair of go-ahead free throws from Serbia & Montenegro's Vladimir Radmanovic with 59 seconds left for their first playoff win since 1993.
Elton Brand scored 21 points and Sam Cassell added 19 and seven assists for the host Clippers, who are in the postseason for the first time in nine years.
Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points for the third-seeded Nuggets but missed all eight of his shots in the fourth quarter, including a potential tying drive that was blocked by Brand and a pair of jumpers in the final minute.
Game Two is at Los Angeles on Monday.
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