"We felt like (Parker) was too comfortable. We felt like Timmy was too comfortable," said Carlos Boozer, "so we had to do different things to get different looks. (Parker) still had a great game, he had 25 points, but it was a little harder to get those 25. We did a good job of mixing it up a little bit, and it worked."

Jazz players all say that tactic likely won't work again tonight because by now the Spurs have seen what they did on film and have come up with an antidote. That's "the great thing about the playoffs," said Fisher. "Now they know that, so they'll make adjustments and be more efficient, and we'll have to be willing to change again and see what happens."

What might still work is that Utah also got more physical, putting Parker and Duncan on the floor a time or two.

"Sometimes you have to send a message, a couple hard fouls," said Boozer. "We never try to hurt anybody, but every now and then you have to put somebody on his butt." That never happened in the first two games. The Spurs went where they wanted. "We had to toughen up, and we did that, and we're going to continue to have that mentality to have a chance."

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E-mail: lham@desnews.com