He never saw himself as the next John Stockton. He saw himself someday becoming another Isiah Thomas, a blur with a jump shot. And as he began by playing within Gregg Popovich's system, and he started his career as a teenager passing to 7-footers, he waited for the time when he could display everything he had.

Monday, he did. The catch, now, is that he has to do this three more times in this series for the Spurs to win.

The Spurs had more than Parker on Monday. Matt Bonner found some openings, as did Drew Gooden. The Spurs can survive when they combine for 24 points.

The Spurs' defense raised a few notches from Game 1, too, and the Dallas defense showed leaks. Rick Carlisle tried a zone in the second quarter, and that only added to the Mavericks' problems.

But at least Carlisle tried. As Parker sped through the Mavericks, a zone made as much sense as anything.

Parker had it all. The mid-range jumper, the floater, the runner, the layup. He had 27 points at the half and could have had 50 for the game had he wanted 50. He instead ended with merely 38.

He had similar bursts through a regular season that should earn him an All-NBA second team berth. That's not bad, considering Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade are the first-team locks at guard.

But maybe none of this would have happened if Manu Ginobili was in uniform for all 82 games. With him, Parker would have had to worry whether it was his turn. Instead, he's free now, and he can probe the defense until he sees what he likes.

Better yet, he does this with Popovich's blessing. Just a few years ago, it wasn't this way. Then, Parker went to Popovich, and he used a phrase he'd heard around the league.

"When do you want me to take over games?" he asked.

Popovich growled. "Never."

That changed this season, especially in games when both Ginobili and Tim Duncan were out. And, at the time, Parker enjoyed himself.

"I love these opportunities," Parker said then. "I'm not saying I want to play every game like that, but if it's one or two games, you show what you can do."

Now he has to play every game like that. It's clear the 24 points he had in Game 1 isn't enough.

Parker said he tried to stay aggressive, and the team reaction meant something, too.

"We didn't panic," he said. "We went and watched film and made adjustments."

The key adjustment was for Parker to become what he's always wanted to be. He began by missing a drive, and then he missed a 17-footer, and he gave no thought of stopping.

By the middle of the first quarter, he was getting whatever he wanted, and by the second he was, in a playoff moment, Isiah. He took off on a fastbreak, with three Mavericks in front of him, showing no signs he would slow down.

Parker readied to spring to the basket again, and that's when Jason Terry turned a shoulder into him. Terry got the flagrant, and the moment defined frustration.

"We give up 23 (19) first-quarter points to Tony Parker," Terry said afterward. "It's unacceptable. We have to adjust our game plan and really hone in on him. He's the head of the snake."

Actually, he's the whole snake. It's his series to win, and he will need these kinds of nights for it to happen.

There's a reason Parker wanted it to be this way.

bharvey@express-news.net