SAN ANTONIO — After an inconsistent start to the season and watching otherclubs go on lengthy winning streaks, the San Antonio Spurs knew it was time tomake their run at the playoffs.

The Spurs showed that form on Wednesday as they closed out their series withthe Utah Jazz in five games and advanced to the NBA finals for a chance at theirfourth NBA title in nine seasons.

“At some point around the All-Star break, Coach just pretty much told us,’It’s time. We can’t wait for the playoffs to turn it around. That type ofattitude seems to backfire,”‘ said Michael Finley, who is making his first tripto the NBA finals. “From that point on we just started really buckling down.”

Finley, a 12-year veteran in his second season with the Spurs, watched lastseason as his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, beat San Antonio in the secondround of the playoffs on their way to the NBA finals.

“Last year, I thought we had a great chance and unfortunately we came upshort,” Finley said after Wednesday’s win. “With the remainder of the teamcoming back and feeling that bitterness of losing to Dallas, I think that kindof helped us coming into the season.”

For Tim Duncan, he’ll not only have a chance at a fourth championship, butalso an opportunity for a fourth NBA finals MVP, which he also won in 1999, 2003and 2005. Getting that honor again would put Duncan behind only Michael Jordan,who won the award six times.

Duncan has averaged a team-best 23.2 points and 11.4 rebounds during theplayoffs. Tony Parker is close behind with nearly 20 points per game, and 6.4assists. Rounding out the Spurs’ top-scoring trio is Manu Ginobili with morethan 16 points a game. Finley has averaged more than 13.

The Spurs showed they are worthy Western Conference champions with the waythey handled the Utah Jazz in the series, but especially the finale. Beforefacing the Jazz, the Spurs opened the playoffs by eliminating the Denver Nuggetsin five games, then the Phoenix Suns in a physical, testy six-game series.

“If we don’t finish it in the next series, no one is going to remember howwe did against Denver, Phoenix or Utah,” Ginobili said.

The Spurs’ playoff pedigree is deep, with Duncan playing for San Antonio forall three of the team’s titles and Parker and Ginobili around for the past two.Veteran Robert Horry has six championship rings, one with the Spurs, three withthe Los Angeles Lakers and two with the Houston Rockets.

“It never gets old,” Horry said. “It’s a wonderful feeling. You can’twait to get there.”

On the other end of the spectrum are players such as Finley and FabricioOberto, in his second season, with no titles or NBA finals experience.

“During the game I was happy for all the new guys,” Parker said. “It isan unbelievable experience and it is going to be 50 times better if we do go allthe way. So we have to stay focused.”

The Spurs will meet either the Cleveland Cavaliers or Detroit Pistons in theNBA finals, which start June 7. They’ll have to wait until at least Game 6 ofthe Eastern Conference finals, scheduled for Saturday, to find out who they’llface.

The Spurs beat Detroit in the 2005 finals in seven games.

“Detroit, Cleveland, both are very good teams, very physical, so I reallydon’t care,” Parker said. “It doesn’t matter. We are going to prepare for bothand see what happens.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said that preparation will be intense.

“I think we just want to do everything we can practice-wise to stay sharpso that our execution is at the level that it is at now,” Popovich said. “Wedon’t want to go into Cleveland or Detroit and be 70 percent of what we arenow.”

16 wins. 16 teams. 1 trophy. Tune in to the NBA Playoffs to see who is left standing as NBA champion