Spurs' 3-man act terrific

SAN ANTONIO — Larry, Curly and Moe had their moments. Huey, Dewey and Louie, too. And when counting terrific trios, don't discount Charlie's Angels in their heyday.

When it comes to basketball, though, no current threesome has had its act together better lately than Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

The Jazz were reminded of that the hard way Sunday in Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals, when San Antonio's talented triumvirate formed a Texas triangle that makes Bermuda's seem like calm seas.

Parker and Ginobili did their damage from the perimeter, with the Belgium-born Frenchman contributing 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and his Argentine teammate scoring 23 off the bench while dishing a personal playoff-high 10 assists.

Duncan did the damage down low, with the two-time NBA MVP from the Virgin Islands pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds and putting up a team-high 27 points.

Add it all together, and it's a foreign-flavored sandwich of sensation trumping bacon, lettuce and tomato like gourmet ham over Spam.

"No surprise about that," said Mehmet Okur, the Jazz center from Turkey, "because once they get going, it's hard to stop them."

Hard?

As a rock.

But impossible?

Hey, scissors forever get crushed by stone — but every now and then paper has its day.

"There are very few times when all three of them aren't on. They're very good players," forward Matt Harpring said before the Jazz practiced Monday for tonight's Game 2 in the best-of-seven series that has a trip to the NBA Finals as its ultimate prize.

But, Harpring hastened to add: "Our job is to try to get them to have some off nights, maybe. Off nights shooting. Putting them in situations that they're uncomfortable."

How then?

How might the Jazz force Duncan into foul trouble? How can Utah prompt Parker to spin out of control. How to keep Ginobili from sinking his shot with such ease?

One walks away Monday convinced the Jazz think it's much, much easier said than done.

"All three of those guys are studs, and we're going to do the best job we can on them," said power forward Carlos Boozer, who struggled to get going in Game 1.