No domination of Jazz by Spurs in Game 3

After dominating the first two games of the Western Conference Finals and leading at halftime of Game 3, the San Antonio Spurs could have been justified in being confident Saturday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

But perhaps the Spurs were a bit overconfident.

"We can't think it is going to be easy — especially here in Utah," said Spurs point guard Tony Parker after the Utah Jazz rallied for a lopsided 109-83 victory in front of 19,911 fans, including Parker's television-star fiancee Eva Longoria.

The Spurs still hold a 2-1 series lead heading into Game 4 on Monday night, but their dominance in the series is now in question. The Jazz, who are 7-0 at home in the playoffs this season, certainly picked up some momentum with the win.

Or did they? Spurs coach Gregg Popovich isn't sure there will be any carryover in momentum from Saturday's game to Monday's.

"I'm not concerned about momentum," Popovich said. "I'm concerned about playing better."

Playing better will mean the Spurs will have to quit handling the ball like a hot potato and have to play defense like, well, themselves. After all, the Spurs are a team that held opponents to an NBA low of 90 points per game during the regular season.

San Antonio turned the ball over 19 times Saturday— with star forward Tim Duncan committing eight miscues alone. The Spurs also gave up an unheard of — for them —109 points to the Jazz, with 66 coming in the second half.

"They scored 66 points in the second half, and that is way, way too many," said Spurs guard Manu Ginobili. "We could have made a couple of more shots and (made) a couple less turnovers, but allowing them to score 106 and play like that in the second half — we can't win."

While Jazz center Mehmet Okur finished with no points in 21 minutes of play, he played solid defense on Duncan.

"(Okur) caused some turnovers," Duncan said. "Whether it was because he was more active or just because he got his hands on the ball — whatever it might be — he did a much better job (defensively)."

Duncan, in addition to the host of turnovers, was frustrated all game by foul trouble. While the Spurs were able to weather the storm when he had to leave the game with three fouls in the first half, they were less successful after he picked up his fourth foul with 5:44 remaining in the third quarter. Utah went on a 16-7 run in the final six minutes of the third quarter to take an eight-point lead into the final period.

"It's tough to get going and to stay aggressive when you have fouls on you like that," said Duncan, who finished with 16 points and eight rebounds.

The Spurs, winners of three NBA titles since 1999, with Duncan leading the way, know they can put Saturday's frustrating game behind them quickly.

"Hopefully, we can play a little bit better in Game 4," said Parker, before leaving to spend some time with his favorite "Desperate Housewife."

For now, the Spurs aren't exactly desperate basketball players. But a loss Monday night might change that.

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E-mail: lojo@desnews.com