USA - Parker steals the limelight in Spurs opening win

SAN ANTONIO (NBA) - France point guard Tony Parker sped through the defense as if it weren't there and scored 27 points while dishing out seven assists on Thursday night as the San Antonio Spurs systematically took apart the Cleveland Cavaliers, 85-76.

In his Finals debut, the 22-year-old superstar swingman LeBron James of Cleveland was shackled by Bruce Bowen and a host of help defenders as he was held to 14 points, the second-lowest postseason total of his career and a very bad sign for the Cavaliers.

"It was definitely crowded," James said. "They did a good job of shrinking the floor. If I went by one guy, another guy stepped up, something I'm going to have to make an adjustment for."

"He struggled mightily tonight," said Cavaliers coach Mike Brown, whose team will try again in Game Two on Sunday.

Among other things, this series was supposed to be a referendum on the best player in the NBA - James, the Team USA captain and the new school entry against Duncan, the leader of the old guard who is stalking his fourth title.

Duncan held up his end with 24 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. But the three-time Finals MVP was upstaged by Parker, who looked even sleeker than fiancee Eva Longoria in her canary yellow mini-dress.

Taking advantage of his matchup with the hobbled Larry Hughes and just about any other defender the Cavaliers tried, Parker got inside the defense at will for easy layups or setups for teammates. He made 12-of-23 shots, with most of his misses coming when he inexplicably settled for jumpers.

"I just tried to go faster than them, tried to think ahead and what they're going to do, make quick decisions," Parker said. "Even if I have to pass it early or I'm going to go all the way, just the timing when I penetrate I try to think ahead."

"When he wanted to get to the rim, he did most of the night," Brown said. "He had us on our heels."

Parker's penetration also took the Cavaliers out of position and helped the Spurs hold a 43-32 advantage on the boards against the NBA's top rebounding team. San Antonio had 13 offensive boards and 19 second-chance points.

"No matter how anybody plays him in the pick-and-roll, his ability to penetrate or get the ball to the other side of the court gets us going," Parker said.

"On the offensive glass, they really hurt us," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said.

As he did in the conference finals clincher, James did not have a basket in the first half as he was limited to virtually no operating room and four free throws. He missed his first eight shots and finished 4-of-16 from the field.

"Some of it was me missing a lot of the shots I usually make and some of it was the defense they put on me and our team in general," James said. "It's like a half-and-half thing."

James also had six turnovers, including one early in the second quarter where he tried to throw a crosscourt pass from the right corner that hit the rim and bounded back over his head and into the expensive seats, drawing jeers from the crowd at the AT&T Center, many of them clad in white T-shirts.

At the 7:15 mark of the third period, James finally swooped in for a layup. But shortly thereafter, the Spurs began to pull away as the Cavs began to show their inexperience.

Another driving layup by Parker made it 58-47, and Drew Gooden would not allow Argentina’s Manu Ginobili to do the same, grabbing him at the neck for a flagrant foul. A 3-pointer by postseason mainstay Robert Horry opened the fourth quarter and gave the Spurs a 67-49 lead.

James made consecutive 3-pointers in the final period, but the Cavaliers got no closer than eight points down the stretch.

Ginobili scored 16 points for the Spurs, who were playing for the first time in eight days but were fairly sharp, shooting 45 percent (34-of-75).

Daniel Gibson scored 16 points, Gooden added 14 and Sasha Pavlovic 13 for the Cavs, who were playing the first Finals game in franchise history. They fell to 0-13 all-time in playoff openers on the road.

FIBA