May 29, 2005, 1:32AM

By JOHN P. LOPEZ
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle


SAN ANTONIO — Go ahead and join the chorus.

Sing praises about the Spurs changing their game and their colors, becoming more like the Suns, playing a run-and-gun style and all but growing Afros for a return to their American Basketball Association roots.

Go ahead and fall for the biggest misconception of this NBA Western Conference finals: that this is a different team.

No sooner had they walked away with a seven-point win in Game 1 than everyone started talking about a style that seemed inspired more by George Gervin than George Will for the conservative Spurs.

They baited the hook, and the entire basketball world bit, no one harder than the high-scoring Phoenix Suns, whose next bite after Saturday's 102-92 loss to the Spurs in Game 3 is sure to be the dust.


'Weird' scenes on the court
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich talked about his team being like a chameleon and about just being "along for the ride." And he called the Spurs' points explosion "weird."

Tim Duncan said he worried if the Spurs would be able to stop Suns MVP point guard Steve Nash or remarkable big man Amare Stoudemire.

They all kept talking about how strange it was to play a Suns-style game — scoring 121 and 111 points at Phoenix, yet managing to win.

"That's not who we are," Popovich said. "That's not how we've played all year."

Oh, but it is. There might be more points on the scoreboard in the end.

But down the stretch of each Spurs win, there has come a time when the outcome has hinged on a stop, a deliberate half-court set and a crucial basket from one of the Big Three: Duncan, Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili.


A shift in Game 3
In the Spurs' wins at Phoenix, they trailed going into the fourth quarter of high-scoring games and seemingly were trapped in the Suns' fast-paced style.

In this one, the Spurs had a comfortable 17-point lead after three quarters before the Suns went on a rapid-fire tear.

"We played great in spurts," Suns forward Shawn Marion said. "We just had a few holes."

A few holes? Maybe no one has taken the bait more than Phoenix. As much as there were stretches of the Suns getting off, running and dunking, they were a square peg trying to fill round holes in the Spurs' offensive and defensive sets.

Experience and mettle won this game for the Spurs with their defense strangling the Suns when it counted most — during a big second-quarter run that stretched the lead and during the final minutes after Phoenix cut into that lead.

Their offense revolved around the same three things that buried the Suns before.

Duncan, who made a kind of MVP statement with 33 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots, became the focus of the Spurs' half-court game when the Suns cut the lead to 90-82 with under five minutes remaining.

This might as well have been the Pistons or Pacers the Spurs were facing in the critical moments. They rotated the ball, pitched it in to Duncan, kicked it back out and found Duncan again in good position.


Looking for No. 21
On consecutive possessions, Duncan was fouled on a drive and hit two free throws. He then emphatically blocked Stoudemire on the other end.

On the Spurs' next two possessions, Duncan dunked over Stoudemire, then scooped in a hook shot for a 12-point lead with less than three minutes remaining.

And when it wasn't Duncan, it was Parker or Ginobili doing what they always do — and what they've done to the Suns throughout.

Before the game, Suns coach Mike D'Antoni was talking confidently about winning Saturday's game and "then winning the next one."

He said the difference was keeping Ginobili away from the loose balls, stopping Ginobili's hustle plays and keeping Parker out of the lane.

After Game 2, D'Antoni counted how many times Parker penetrated off a half-court set and managed to get all the way to the rim.

He was appalled to find out that nine times Parker slinked through the Suns' defense in Game 2.

And in Saturday's Game 3, Parker made it to the rim 11 times. Ginobili got to the rim four times, and here's a rough estimate of how many times Ginobili threw himself or got knocked to the ground: five.

"We didn't play tough enough, not for 48 minutes, not like they did," D'Antoni said. "They're just tougher right now."


Color me impressed
The Spurs are averaging more than 111 points per game, confounding the Suns with a supposedly faster, more colorful game, like the one from the days of the old red, white and blue basketball.

But rest assured, it always comes down to the same
old song and the same familiar Spurs' colors.

Black and blue.

"I think in the fourth quarters, to be able to have Tim Duncan down there doing what he does, making decisions, keeping things spaced, that really helps us a lot," Popovich said. "Manu and Tony are important. ... Robert Horry always does his job. Brent Barry. It's really a team thing."

Just like always.

Nothing has changed, except the final numbers on the scoreboard.

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