Tim Duncan

SAN ANTONIO -- It was the fourth quarter last night, and the San Antonio Spurs had a double-digit lead on the New Jersey Nets in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. That, of course, meant it was nervous time at SBC Center. After all, the Spurs had given back six leads of 10 points or more in the final period during their Western Conference playoff run, losing five of those contests, and getting outscored badly during those fourth quarters. The Nets applied the pressure last night, slicing what had been a 16-point lead to 10 in the first 1:40 of the fourth, before San Antonio regained its bearings behind Tim Duncan to defeat New Jersey, 101-89.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - If New Jersey's Dikembe Mutombo is such a big factor in these NBA Finals, it's only because of a former kid swimmer from the Virgin Islands - Tim Duncan. Actually, if Mutombo's minutes get as much scrutiny as Hillary Clinton's new dirt-dishing autobiography (breaking news: She was really mad at Bill), it's really more about two other far more important players - Duncan and Jason Kidd. Getting Duncan neutralized so he stops looking like the second coming of Kareem or Russell or Wilt is the only reason why Mutombo so suddenly became the flavor du jour.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Tim Duncan is what he is, and he's not what he's not. What he's not, is the electric personality that can turn the NBA Finals from a ratings sinkhole into a water-cooler spectacle. What he is, is the best and most important player in the Finals. Whether the San Antonio Spurs pick up in tonight's Game 4 where they left off in Games 1 and 2, or slip off track as they did in Game 3, depends wholly on what Duncan can do. Put another way: Manu Ginobili isn't going to carry the Spurs to the championship this year, despite what the bandwagon jumpers proclaimed after the first two games.

SAN ANTONIO - Tim Duncan's reputation was on the line. Go figure: He's the best power forward of his time, maybe the best who ever played, a two-time Most Valuable Player and twice the NBA Finals MVP, and if he didn't lead the Spurs to a win in last night's Game 7 against the Detroit Pistons, he would never live it down. That's life in the big leagues, the price you pay for all that hardware. It doesn't get easier, and for the previous four games of the NBA Finals, Duncan had looked as if living up to the reputation he'd earned was harder than teaching nuclear physics.

Any upset would be an upset Mark Heisler Los Angeles Times Upsets? What upsets? Nothing that happens in the West can even qualify as an upset, unless the Thunder knock off the Lakers, which isn't going to happen. If the No. 7 Spurs knock off the No. 2 Mavericks, does that qualify as an upset? Not as far as I'm concerned, with the Spurs in Tim Duncan preservation mode winning 50 games to the Mavericks' 55. But if you think it does, that would be my pick. Nobody thinks the No. 5 Jazz beating the No. 4 Nuggets would be an upset, do they?

DALLAS - Forget Leo Durocher and Vince Lombardi. Nice guys do finish first. Take the San Antonio Spurs and Steve Kerr, though no one has been able to do it in these NBA playoffs. The Spurs will open the NBA Finals at home Wednesday against the New Jersey Nets after a rousing comeback from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday. They won the Western Conference finals, 4-2. "It was a great confidence builder," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We've given up so many leads.

Grizzlies are toast Shandel Richardson Sun Sentinel One of the teams in this series is finished, and it's not the Spurs. The Grizzlies had their chance to close out one of the league's top franchises in recent history and failed. The Spurs will win the next two games and probably cruise in the following round because of this second chance. Big shots such as Gary Neal's 3-pointer at the end of the regulation have changed playoff series before. Just ask the 2002 Kings.

Now, for our eagerly awaited NBA Decade Awards, or at least they might be eagerly awaited if they came around more often than once in 10 years. Of course, the most glamorous award goes to the Team of the Decade, so here goes: Tie: Lakers and Spurs. History isn't remembered by decades but eras, which might not fit neatly into decades. The Lakers' 4-3 edge in titles over the Spurs this decade hardly demonstrates that they ruled, since it's 4-4 over 11 years counting the Spurs' title in 1999.

ATHENS -- For a basketball team that could no longer dress itself properly, bronze doesn't look too bad. In an appropriately bizarre ending, the U.S. men's basketball team won the bronze medal last night, but it did so after a delay of about 35 minutes. The reason: The United States and Lithuania both showed up in white uniforms. According to the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), neither team erred. Officials accidentally told both to wear white. But after a summer of four losses (including against Italy in an exhibition game)

Down, not outNine reasons why ACC won't be as weak as people predict:1. Tim Duncan. There may not be many established big men in the ACC, but the best one in the country plays at Wake Forest.2. Mike Krzyzewski's return at Duke. The Blue Devils won't be back at Final Four form, but they'll be back at a very competitive level.3. Virginia's backcourt tandem. Harold Deane and three-point sharpshooter Curtis Staples make up one of the nation's best backcourts.4. Maryland's revival. Coming off two straight Sweet 16 seasons, the Terps are on the verge of becoming a perennial ACC power again.