This year’s Western Conference Finals was tabbed as a battle of teams with starkly contrasting personalities. The Phoenix Suns were the no. 1 team in Offensive Efficiency (points per 100 possessions) at 111.8, while the San Antonio Spurs led the league in Defensive Efficiency, allowing only 95.7. But in grabbing a 2-0 series lead, the Spurs have showcased a remarkable ability to use to the Suns’ strengths against them.

The first two games of the series have grabbed headlines for their hefty score lines, but defense has, in fact, been the deciding factor in San Antonio’s 121-114 and 111-108 wins. In a break from their usual gameplan, the Spurs have been able to match the Suns’ breakneck offensive pace during the first three quarters before putting the clamps on the Phoenix scoring machine in the final frame.

Usually, when two teams with such discrepancies meet in a playoff series, the first battle is over style. Take San Antonio’s first-round matchup with Denver. The Nuggets favored an up-tempo style like the Suns’, yet the Spurs slowed the game to an andante pace, holding the Nuggets under 95 points in four of the series’ five games.

In this series, however, the Spurs have been willing to match their opponent’s turbocharged pace – through three quarters. In Game 1, the Spurs trailed 82-78 after three quarters; Tuesday night, they trailed 85-80 at that juncture – these are scores typical of an entire San Antonio regular season game.

But everything changes when the fourth quarter begins. First, the Spurs slow the pace by assigning Tony Parker to pick up Suns point guard Steve Nash for the full length of the court. This is particularly effective in the absence of Suns swingman Joe Johnson, who broke an orbital bone in his eye during Phoenix’s second-round win over the Dallas Mavericks. Johnson, in addition to providing scoring punch, often takes over the ballhandling responsibilities when Nash is on the bench.

By pressuring full court, the Spurs have capitalized on Johnson’s absence (the presence of a second ballhandler would thwart the pressure) and forced Phoenix into a half-court sets. Normally, that would be a minor issue for the Suns, who possess a potent lineup – all five starters averaged at least 15 points a game during the season – and they swept Memphis in the first round despite frequently playing at a slower pace.

But San Antonio defensive ace Bruce Bowen has taken Suns forward and second-leading scorer Shawn Marion out of the mix. Marion, who averaged 19.4 points a game on 47.6% shooting this season, has probably reported the theft of his game to the lo cal police by now. So far, against Bowen’s suffocating defense, he’s managed a total of 14 points in two games.

With Marion silenced, the Suns might feel as if they were playing four-against-five on offense, but by the fourth quarter, that’s giving too much credit to reserve swingman Jim Jackson. Jackson stepped in for Johnson during the Dallas series and had several stellar moments in the closeout games. But against the Spurs, his production has been dismal in the final frame, where he’s looked like an aging player with too much on his plate. Jackson missed his only shot attempt of the fourth quarter on Tuesday night and rarely worked to get open during the Suns’ half-court sets.

This reduces the Suns’ offense to just their two all-world players – Nash and center Amare Stoudemire – with sporadic contributions from swingman Quentin Richardson. That the Suns shot 10-of-20 in the fourth quarter of Game 2 is a testament to the greatness of Phoenix’s dynamic duo, but it’s important to remember that the team shot 57.6% for the first 36 minutes.

While it’s clear that both teams have talented offenses, the real contrast in style comes in how they play defense. The Spurs use their remarkable footwork to establish position between their opponents and the hoop, then they reach with their hands for any exposed balls. The strategy works to deny opponents favorable position and beat them to contested spaces. A key moment in Wednesday’s game came when Robert Horry, typically no match for Stoudemire in one-on-one play, beat him to the driving lane, causing a collision and an offensive foul.

By contrast, the Suns play defense with their hands first. Phoenix’s method of reaching for the ball works fine against lesser opponents where tipped balls and errant passes frequently trigger fast breaks in the other direction, but against an elite team like the Spurs, who move wonderfully without the ball and make intelligent passes, it comes up short. Most of San Antonio’s fourth-quarter passes in Game 2 were of the safe, short variety. Five passes – three to players coming off screens – resulted in Horry’s crucial, wide-open 3-pointer, which gave the Spurs the lead for good.

The series shifts to San Antonio for games 3 and 4 Saturday and Monday, and in the interim, there will be tons of statistical evidence presented about the doom that surely awaits teams who lose the first two games of a seven-game series at home. But the Suns shouldn’t consider saving the airfare and getting an early start on their off-season conditioning programs. Both of the games in the Arizona desert were close, and the Suns played them shorthanded. Johnson is expected to return for Game 3, and while any team can reasonably expect a big lift from the return of their no. 3 scorer, the Suns also get an extra ballhandler and the return of their usual bench rotation.

Johnson’s return will give the Suns hope, but the three-day gap may just give Spurs coach Gregg Popovich enough time to find new ways to beat them.