This Time the Real Spurs Show Up

Maybe Game 1 was a wake-up call, or maybe Coach Bob Hill sounded an alarm.

Whatever the reason, on Thursday night the Spurs played more like the team that had cruised through one playoff series and was expected to coast through this one en route to the Western Conference finals.

“There was a lot of pressure after losing the first game. Everyone was on edge coming in,” said David Robinson, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds in San Antonio’s 88-77 win over Utah that evened their playoff series at 1-1.

“We were better tonight,” said Hill, who gave his team a lecture earlier Thursday about learning from their mistakes, of which there were many in a 95-75 loss Tuesday.

“We have a lot of character on this team and they knew they hadn’t played well in Game 1,” Hill said. “We didn’t play great, but we did play awfully well at times.”

The Spurs used a late 15-3 run to defeat Utah in a game filled with scoring streaks by both teams. The 77 points were the all-time lowest playoff total for the Jazz.

Utah had used a 15-4 run to cut the Spurs’ lead to 73-71, but Robinson’s three-point play sparked a 15-3 run that put San Antonio up, 88-74. Chuck Person capped the spurt with a three-point play with 9.8 seconds left.

NBA Notes

Three Chicago Bulls--Scottie Pippen, Michael Jordan and Dennis Rodman--were selected to the NBA’s all-defensive team, joining San Antonio’s David Robinson and Seattle’s Gary Payton, who was the defensive player of the year.