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2B Daily News – Saturday, June 8, 2013 NBA FINALS TENNIS | French Open At 37, Duncan takes it all in Nadal beats Djokovic, gets Ferrer By JON KRAWCZYNSKI AP Basketball Writer MIAMI (AP) — For all the playoff slugfests he has endured over the years, for all the elbows to the ribs he's taken in the post, for all the postseason runs between this NBA Finals and his last one, precious little has changed for Tim Duncan. His expressive face looks remarkably similar in 2013 to the one that helped the San Antonio Spurs to their first championship in 1999. His game is still built on fundamentals and smarts more than athleticism and speed. And he still plays for the same coach, in the same system and with the same two stars by his side that brought three titles to the River Walk in five years. You see Duncan in Game 1 against Miami on Thursday night, controlling the paint, finding the open man and cleaning up the boards like he's always done. And then you realize he's 37 years old, and his last trip to the NBA Finals was six years ago. That may not seem so far back to most players. To Duncan, it felt like an eternity. And now that he's finally here, with a chance for title No. 5, he's playing with the urgency of a man that doesn't know how many more chances he's going to get. ''It felt like a long time,'' Duncan said on Friday, one day after posting 20 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and three assists in San Antonio's 92-88 win over Miami in Game 1. ''I definitely appreciate being back out here, to see the finals banners all around and to see the patch on the jersey and all those little things, the last couple of days it's really been sinking in. ''I think I really do appreciate it more now, having been gone so long.'' That Duncan, the most understated of stars, is focusing on those little details that he never did before should come as no surprise. He's never been one for the pyrotechnic pregame introductions; never craved the spotlight that comes with playing for the championship. What he has stood for more than anything over the years is dependability. Everyone knows what AP photo The San Antonio Spurs'Tim Duncan, right, defends against the Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade on Thursday in Miami during Game 1 of the NBA Finals. he brings to the table, and the fact that he keeps bringing it year-in and year-out has earned him an unparalleled level of respect and admiration within the league — if not among the casual fan who craves soaring dunks and wicked crossovers. ''The way he's played his whole career, he's continued to play that way,'' Heat guard Ray Allen said. ''In this world we live in, consistency is all we ask. You get paid a lot of money and you get respect by doing it.'' Some fans want more. They want highlights and sound bites, big plays and bigger personalities. That's never been Duncan's style, and never been the Spurs' way, which is why arguably the greatest power forward in league history so often gets overshadowed in his own time by the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. Now in his 16th season in the league and producing like he's fresh out of college, Duncan is reluctantly being thrust into the spotlight once more in these finals. He averaged 17.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game in the regular season, becoming the second oldest player to earn All-NBA first team honors. And he's built off that with a stirring postseason run. ''Timmy is being recognized as one of the great, enduring Hall of Fame, top 10 players of all-time,'' Commissioner David Stern said. ''They're getting what they deserve.'' Duncan has long since handed over the reins to the Spurs offense to point guard Tony Parker, but his influence and impact hasn't waned in the least. ''This will always be Timmy's franchise,'' Parker said. ''Always. Should do a statue for him outside the AT&T Center.'' What would that statue look like? ''Looking mean,'' Parker said. ''Something like that.'' He shrugged off an 0for-5 start to Game 1 by making eight of his last 14 shots in the game, giving Chris Bosh fits on the low block and forcing him out to the perimeter, where the AllStar forward was rendered almost obsolete. ''Timmy is unbelievable,'' said Spurs point guard Tony Parker, who couldn't resist a chance to take a jab at his buddy. ''At his age, 50, doing what he's doing is crazy. It's crazy. I don't know how he does it, seriously. It's unbelievable.'' Before the series started, Bosh said he grew up with a poster of Duncan on his wall, something the elder statesman is still trying to get his mind around. ''It's really odd to hear that, especially playing against someone like that,'' Duncan said. ''It means I've been around a very, very long time. To have him at this point ... to have that thought in his mind, I guess I'm honored by it. ''But we're both here for the single purpose, to try to beat each other up.'' PARIS (AP) — His dramatic and delightful French Open semifinal was 4 1/2 hours old — and 14 games into the fifth set — when Rafael Nadal raced from the net to the baseline to retrieve Novak Djokovic's seemingly unreachable lob. Many players wouldn't have bothered to give chase, let alone attempt what Nadal actually accomplished: With his back to the court, he somehow sent a lob the other way by flipping the ball between his legs. Perhaps surprised the 11-stroke point was not already his, Djokovic flubbed an easy overhead smash into the net. Two games later, Nadal flicked another, more traditional, defensive lob, and Djokovic sailed his response 5 feet long, the earlier mistake no doubt on his mind. Three points later, the blink-and-you-miss-something match was over. In a contest chock full of lengthy exchanges, moments of mastery and occasional lapses by both men, seven-time French Open champion Nadal returned to the final with a 64, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 9-7 victory over the No. 1-ranked Djokovic on Friday. By the finish, it was not just a test of skill but also of stamina and perseverance, two qualities Nadal possesses in abundance. ''This one is a special one,'' Nadal said. ''If we talk about everything that makes a match big, today we had all of these ingredients.'' Except, of course, a glistening silver cup for the winner and a runner's-up tray for the loser. Those will be on offer Sunday, when Nadal faces David Ferrer in an all-Spanish final with a chance to become the only man with eight titles at any Grand Slam tournament. ''When you have a win and you have the trophy, it means more,'' said Nadal, who will be seeking his 12th major championship overall. The fourth-seeded Ferrer reached his first Grand Slam final by defeating France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 7-6 (3), 6-2 Friday. The 31-year-old Ferrer, previously 0-5 in major semifinals, ended Tsonga's bid to give the host country its first male champion since Yannick Noah in 1983. ''I want to enjoy this moment,'' Ferrer said. That's understandable, given not only that this is his 42nd appearance in a Grand Slam tournament but also that his record against is Nadal is 4-19. Then again, 17 of those head-to-head matches came on clay, and no one has been able to withstand Nadal's relentless, will-sapping style on that surface. Nadal is 58-1 in his French Open career; the loss came to Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009. Nadal later said bad knees were partly to blame for that defeat. On Friday, he was wearing a thick strip of white tape below his left knee, which sidelined him for about seven months until February. Since returning, Nadal is 42-2 with six titles, reaching the finals of all nine tournament's he's entered. MLS Quakes, coach Yallop agree to part ways SAN JOSE (AP) — The San Jose Earthquakes say they have reached a mutual agreement with coach Frank Yallop to part ways. The struggling Earthquakes made the announcement Friday, while also saying that assistant coach Mark Watson would serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season. At 3-6-6 with 15 points, the Earthquakes are in secondto-last place in the Western Conference. Yallop says he met with President Dave Kaval and general manager John Doyle earlier in the week and ''mutually agreed that it was time for the club and me to move in different directions.'' In two stints, Yallop spent more than eight years with the Earthquakes, winning two MLS Cups during his initial time as coach from 2001-03, then coming back in 2008 when the team returned to the MLS. Bruins 1, Penguins 0 Athletics 4, White Sox 3 McQuaid's goal sends Bruins to Stanley Cup finals Donaldson's grand slam lifts A's BOSTON (AP) — Adam McQuaid scored early in the third period, Tuukka Rask posted his second shutout of the series, and the Boston Bruins swept their way to the Stanley Cup finals with a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night. The Bruins won the Eastern Conference finals 4-0 and held the high-scoring Penguins to just two goals in the stunning sweep. Boston will face either the Chicago Blackhawks or Los Angeles Kings when the Bruins shoot for their second Stanley Cup title in three years. Chicago leads that series 3-1 and can advance to the finals with a home win on Saturday night. If the Blackhawks get there, it will set up the first finals matchup of Original Six NHL franchises since 1979. The Penguins' season ended swiftly and shockingly as the league's highest-scoring team got no points in the series from offensive stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. McQuaid scored at 5:01 of the final period on a 45-foot slap shot from the right over the glove of goalie Tomas Vokoun. That unleashed loud chants of ''We want the Cup!'' from the capacity crowd. The top-seeded Penguins were trying to overcome both the disciplined defense of the fourth-seeded Bruins and history. Only three teams had lost a series after winning the first three games. The last was the Bruins in the 2010 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Philadelphia Flyers. Pittsburgh, which never led in any of the four games against the Bruins, was swept for the first time in 47 series. The last team to do it to the Penguins was Boston in 1979. CHICAGO (AP) — Josh Donaldson hit his first career grand slam, Josh Reddick made a homer-saving catch in the ninth inning, and the Oakland Athletics rallied from a three-run deficit Friday night for a 4-3 victory over Chris Sale and the Chicago White Sox. Donaldson's ninth home run of the season came in the sixth inning and helped Oakland right-hander Jarrod Parker (5-6) earn his fourth win in five decisions. Reddick made a leaping catch to take away a home run from Chicago's Conor Gillaspie with one out in the ninth to preserve the win. Sale (5-4) hadn't given up more than two earned runs since April 11, and he cruised out to a 3-0 lead through five innings in this one. In the sixth Adam Rosales singled and, after Coco Crisp struck out, Jed Lowrie singled. Yoenis Cespedes followed with walk, and Donaldson hit a 1-1 pitch AP photo Chicago White Sox's Alex Rios (51) steals second as Oakland Athletics shortstop Adam Rosales is unable to field a throw on Friday. for an opposite-field home run to right to give Oakland a 4-3 lead. The Athletics won for the 18th time in 21 games and the White Sox lost for the 10th time in 11. Parker beat the White Sox for the second time in five days with a seven- inning, five-hit effort. He walked two and struck out four. Reliever Ryan Cook pitched out of a first-andsecond jam with none out in the eighth and Grant Balfour pitched the ninth for his 15th save. Sale stayed in the game for 118 pitches. He left after striking out Crisp to lead off the eighth. Sale allowed five hits, walked one and struck out six. The White Sox led 1-0 on Tyler Flowers' thirdinning home run on a 0-2 pitch by Parker.