Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - There will be no embarrassing first-
round exit for the Western Conference's top-seeded team this year.
A year after a spectacular collapse to the Memphis Grizzlies in the opening
round of the playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs completed a first-round sweep of
the Utah Jazz with an 87-81 victory at EnergySolutions Arena Monday.
Manu Ginobili led the way with 17 points off the bench while Tony Parker and
Tim Duncan contributed 11 apiece for the Spurs in an effort that was not
efficient, but nonetheless effective.
Neither team shot over 38 percent from the field, but San Antonio connected on
10-of-22 three-point tries, while Utah missed all 13 of its attempts from
beyond the arc.
The victorious Spurs may have a shot at avenging their 2011 defeat, as they
advance to face the winner of the Memphis/Los Angeles Clippers series. LA
holds a 2-1 series lead entering Monday's Game 4.
Utah's Al Jefferson paced all scorers with 26 points and 10 boards, Derrick
Favors -- who replaced Josh Howard in the starting lineup for Game 4 --
finished with 16 and 10, and Paul Millsap donated 10 and 19 in the Jazz's
final game of the season.
GAME NOTES:
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