Jazz at Spurs
THE STORY: The Utah Jazz survived a spirited battle with the Phoenix Suns to secure the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference. The reward: a first-round meeting with the powerhouse Spurs beginning with Game 1 Sunday afternoon in San Antonio. Utah was one of the hottest teams to close out the regular season - winning five in a row - but will be in tough against a Spurs club that ended the campaign with 10 consecutive victories despite giving their key players plenty of rest.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
ABOUT THE JAZZ (36-30): Utah surprised many by emerging as one of the top offensive teams in the league this season, averaging nearly 100 points per game. The Jazz's balanced attack was led by veteran power forward Al Jefferson, who averaged 19.2 points and 9.6 rebounds to earn his way back to the playoffs after a seven-year absence. Utah will also lean heavily on swingman Gordon Hayward, who capitalized on extra playing time to average 14.1 points in 34 games after the All-Star break.
ABOUT THE SPURS (50-16): San Antonio was one of only two teams to reach the 50-win plateau this season, marking what could be head coach Gregg Popovich's most impressive accomplishment to date. Dealing with an aging star in Tim Duncan and the absence of swingman Manu Ginobili for a major portion of the season, the Spurs still posted the second-best scoring average in the NBA (103.7 ppg). At the heart of the offensive explosion was point guard Tony Parker, who averaged 18.3 points and a career-best 7.7 assists.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Spurs won three of four regular-season meetings, though the Jazz prevailed 91-84 in their last head-to-head encounter April 9.
2. San Antonio has been eliminated from the playoffs in the opening round in two of the last three seasons.
3. Jefferson averaged 6.1 points in just over 19 minutes in his only other playoff experience as a 20-year-old with the Boston Celtics in 2005.