The Utah Jazz players say they don't care whether they play San Antonio or Phoenix in the Western Conference Finals that could start as early as Sunday afternoon if the Spurs win Game 6 tonight at home.

But Matt Harpring has some history with a couple of Spurs players.

"Tim Duncan is one of my favorite players of all times," said Harpring. "I always hold him up to a high regard."

Duncan, in fact, was Harpring's host on an official visit when Wake Forest was recruiting Harpring.

"He was my mentor guy. We got to be friends. This is before Tim was Tim Duncan," Harpring said Thursday. "We played video games. We didn't do too much. He just finished his freshman year. Just a down-to-earth guy. Really nice, laid back."

Harpring likes that Duncan does all the small stuff that makes his team better in addition to all his scoring and rebounding.

"He's not flashy," Harpring said. "The things he does are so key to his team winning."

Harpring also got to know Robert Horry some time ago. Horry has long been known for his timely shooting but was suspended for Wednesday's and tonight's games after hip-checking the Suns' Steve Nash into the boards, er, stands.

"He got me early in my career. Undercut me," Harpring said.

WARMED UP: When Dee Brown was leveled at midcourt by Golden State's Stephen Jackson in Tuesday's third quarter — Jackson drew a Flagrant 1 foul and then a technical — Brown figured his sprained neck was coming along pretty well.

"I didn't know what to expect because I'd been running, but I'd had no contact. So to get hit, it just warmed me up a little bit. I really got hit by Jackson. It let me know how much tolerance I could have on my neck," said Brown, injured in Game 2 when teammate Memhet Okur landed on him and bent the neck forward in a frightening accident.

"The docs say I'm actually two weeks ahead on recovery time so I'm moving pretty fast," said Brown, upset he missed the two free throws he had from Jackson's foul.

MAGNIFIED: Brown's pal Deron Williams said the hard fouls that have caused such a stir in the playoffs the last week look worse because of the stage. "Everything is going to be magnified. During the season, you're going to have flagrant fouls, but there are probably six or seven games on TV, and everybody's talking about the NFL draft or something like that.

"Now everything is focused on us, so when there is a hard foul, it's going to be magnified," Williams said.

EARLY REPUTATION: Harpring said his tough-guy reputation started with his very first NBA play in 1998, the lockout year. He and University of Utah's Michael Doleac were rookies together on a veteran Orlando Magic club. Coach Chuck Daly told them he didn't play rookies, but in the first game, on national television, suddenly Daly called them both into the game. Wide-eyed, "My first play of the game I get into a scuffle with Chris Child. Underneath the basket. Pushed me. Pushed him back. I think that started the whole thing. First play of my NBA career," Harpring said. The altercation was quickly broken up, and, "I don't know if they T'd us up."

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E-mail: lham@desnews.com