Spurs’ Duo Turns Less Than Dynamic

The Timmy and Tony show concluded its playoff run Saturday, devolving from a two-game wonder a week ago to an outfit that will go on hiatus, effective immediately.

San Antonio guard Tony Parker was outscoring Gary Payton, 50-11, and Tim Duncan was running Karl Malone ragged, scoring 54 points on 20-of-31 shooting in the series’ first two games.

Then Parker found less room to roam, Duncan disappeared for long blocks of time, and the Spurs’ outside shooters turned frigid, unable to give the Lakers’ reason to stop collapsing their defense around Duncan.

The Spurs were finished off by the Lakers in Game 6, 88-76, following a 17-game win streak with four consecutive losses at the worst possible time, their longest losing streak of the season guaranteeing they won’t repeat as NBA champions.

Parker made four of 18 shots Saturday, and the Spurs made 26 of 86 (30.2%).

“That was really our demise in the series,” said Spur Coach Gregg Popovich. “We really had a difficult time shooting the ball in the series. Tonight, you could see it in three or four guys out there. That’s not going to hack it against a team like the Lakers.”

The lasting mark of the series will be the Game 5 epilogue, Duncan’s apparent game-winning balloon ball with four-tenths of a second left topped only by Derek Fisher’s accurate 18-foot fadeaway with no time left.

Forty-eight hours later, Popovich admitted the shot still tugged at him.

“I think about it 97 times a day,” he said. “If I said I didn’t think about it, I’d be lying.”

It appeared a championship repeat would be difficult from the beginning for the Spurs.

For starters, David Robinson retired, taking with him steadily declining stats but a hard-to-replace presence.

Steve Kerr and Danny Ferry, longtime veterans who could hit the long jumper, also retired, Kerr moving to the TNT broadcast booth and Ferry taking a job in the Spurs’ front office.

Stephen Jackson, Speedy Claxton and Steve Smith were gone, and Hedo Turkoglu, Robert Horry, Rasho Nesterovic and Devin Brown were brought into the mix.

Chemistry was a subject on everybody’s mind, especially after the Spurs began the season with a 9-10 record.

“We had to do it from the beginning from square one, get guys together, get them used to each other, used to the system,” Popovich said.

Parker, who turns 22 Monday, began to emerge and Duncan accepted a slightly bigger leadership role in Robinson’s absence, taking the Spurs to the league’s third-best record in the regular season.

The Spurs pasted the Memphis Grizzlies in a first-round sweep and looked like a sure shot after taking a 2-0 lead on the Lakers with two 10-point victories.

Then came a Game 3 loss, followed by Kobe Bryant’s 42 points in Game 4, followed by Game 5, one lucky shot followed by another, to steal Shaquille O’Neal’s words, as serendipity and the Spurs parted ways.

Duncan, who finished second in MVP voting to Kevin Garnett, remains the fulcrum of a relatively young team, but more maneuvering could be on the way.

Turkoglu and Manu Ginobili will be free agents, although the Spurs will be $10 million under the salary cap, room enough to sign one, if not both players.

If not, it could be another season of change for the Spurs and Duncan, who has witnessed several moving parts in the Spur machine in recent seasons.

“He does have a lot on his shoulders that way ... luckily they’re broad,” Popovich said. “It would be nice if we made it a little easier on him.”