The Spurs trailed 62-36 at the time, went on to lose 88-67 and fell behind 2-1 in the first-round series.

quot;They kicked our ass every which way but loose,quot; Popovich said. quot;Their energy and aggressiveness was great.quot;

Dallas led by 36 early in the fourth quarter.

The Spurs set a franchise record for fewest points in a playoff game. The old mark came in a 72-70 loss to Phoenix on April 22, 2000, during a series Duncan missed with a knee injury.

This series resumes here at 3 p.m. Saturday. When the schedule was released, Popovich was concerned that the period between Games 3 and 4, fewer than 48 hours, was too short. He hoped for a night game Saturday, a few more hours of relief for Duncan's aching knees.

Duncan received plenty of rest Thursday, playing just 151/2 minutes. He produced four points and two rebounds. Duncan converted 2 of 9 shots, missing four layups.

Parker played only 21 minutes, scoring 12 points, a team high.

quot;It's a short turnaround,quot; Popovich said. quot;I didn't see where we were gonna get back in that one. So I thought it was wiser to make sure Tony and Tim have their energy, because everything we generate starts with them.quot;

Dirk Nowitzki led the Mavericks with 20 points, three more than Josh Howard.

But the Mavs really excelled on defense, limiting the Spurs to 32.1 percent shooting accuracy. The Spurs hit 2 of 17 three-point shots.

Parker made just 5 of 14. He had converted 16 of 22 while scoring 38 points during the Spurs' 105-84 victory on Monday in San Antonio.

The Mavs claim to have made no changes in defensive strategy, and Parker provided confirmation.

quot;No secret strategy,quot; Parker said. quot;They were just more aggressive. They played harder.quot;

Coach Rick Carlisle did make a lineup change, starting J.J. Barea in place of Antoine Wright.

The main concern for Dallas was preventing Parker from using pick-and-roll plays to spring himself for driving layups. He averaged 31 points against the Mavs during the regular season and in the first two games of this series.

quot;He chopped us up all year,quot; Carlisle said.

Jason Kidd and Barea alternated guarding Parker, and they had help.

quot;We were rotating, scrambling,quot; Nowitzki said. quot;You can run whatever pick-and-roll coverage you want, but if you don't bring the energy or the focus to it, nothing is going to work.quot;

The Spurs accomplished nothing in the first 24 minutes other than barely avoiding the indignity of matching a franchise record for fewest points in one half of a playoff game.

They barely made it. Rookie guard George Hill made a shot from the baseline just before the buzzer, sending the Spurs in at halftime trailing 46-30.

They have scored 28 points in a half more than once, most recently during a playoff game against the Lakers in Los Angeles on May 25, 2001.

After the game Thursday, Dallas fans cheered as confetti fell to the court from above.

Duncan was asked if that type of celebration would provoke a desire for revenge against the Mavs.

quot;It doesn't need to,quot; Duncan said. quot;The kind of performance that we put out there is all the fuel we need. We're not gonna play like that again.quot;

The Spurs hope they can deal with defeat better than they did their 21-point victory Monday.

quot;Oftentimes handling wins is tougher than handling losses,quot; Popovich said. quot;We certainly proved that tonight.quot;

mrosner@statesman.com; 445-3958