The Associated Press

SAN ANTONIO - There was plenty of second-guessing Thursday at the NBA Finals, most of it centered around Nets coach Byron Scott, New Jersey forward Kenyon Martin and the defensive strategies against San Antonio's Tim Duncan.

The questions were all valid; the answers spoke volumes.

• Why did Scott leave Martin on the bench for 7 1/2 minutes in the second half after he picked up his fourth foul?

"I talked to Kenyon and he didn't know why he was sitting there," Jason Kidd said.

• Why didn't Scott send more double-teams at Duncan when Martin was on the bench?

"That's not our game plan, to come out and double him right off, but if (Duncan's) got it going, a fool wouldn't do it," Martin said.

• Why didn't Dikembe Mutombo get a chance to defend Duncan in the second half?

"It is surprising that they don't have him in their rotation," Duncan said.

Second-guessing was coming from the Nets themselves, who curtly answered "Ask the coach" when questioned about strategy.

Scott conceded he has begun thinking about giving Mutombo a bigger role, but said he had no regrets about leaving Martin on the bench for so long in the third and fourth quarters.

"I went over the tape last night and this morning," Scott said. "I still feel the same way."

With Game 2 of the best-of-seven series tonight , there will be plenty of focus on the adjustments Scott makes - or whether he makes any.

"As far as adjusting, just looking at the tapes, the three things we talked about doing we just didn't do a real good job of doing," Scott said. "Our pick-and-roll defense has to be better, our post defense has to be better, our pressure and containment has to be better."

New Jersey's offense has to be better, too, but that won't really matter if the Nets can't find a way to contain Duncan. The league's MVP had 32 points, 20 rebounds, seven blocks and six assists, although the Nets held him to two points in the first quarter when Martin defended him one-on-one.

Game 2

Today: New Jersey at San Antonio

Spurs lead series 1-0.

Time/TV: 8:30 p.m./Ch. 9, 2.