SAN ANTONIO ? David Robinson is trying to send himself into retirement as soon as possible.

Needing four victories to go out as a champion, Robinson did a good job in helping the San Antonio Spurs get the first one by playing his best game of the postseason in Game 1 of the NBA Finals Wednesday night.

Robinson kicked his low-key farewell tour into high gear by shooting 6-of-8 and scoring 14 points to go with six rebounds and four blocks as the Spurs beat the New Jersey Nets 101-89.

“When Dave plays like that, we are so much tougher to beat,” said Tim Duncan, who led San Antonio with 32 points, 20 rebounds, seven blocks and six assists. “He was incredible tonight. He was all over the place. He really had some pop in his legs.”

Robinson credited a five-day layoff and water treatments on his creaky back for his throwback performance. It also helped that the Nets went with a big lineup, which meant more minutes — 27, more than he played in the six-game Western Conference finals against Dallas’ small lineup.

“He realizes this is his last series, and I thought his effort was really superior, more than it has been in a while,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He gave us everything that his body will give us. It was really important to us. It will continue to be, if he can continue to play like he did tonight.”

After winning a ceremonial pregame tipoff over Jason Kidd, Robinson got fans on their feet with an early dunk, then scored again on a putback of a rebound.

During a second-quarter stretch, Robinson had another dunk off a nice give-and-go with Tony Parker. He blocked Kenyon Martin on the other end, then rebounded his own missed dunk and turned it into a three-point play that gave the Spurs just their second lead of the game.

When San Antonio broke things open in the third quarter, Robinson was part of it with a jumper and a great

San Antonio's Tim Duncan, right, and Kevin Willis celebrate on the bench. The Spurs beat the Nets, 101-89, Wednesday in San Antonio.

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block on Kidd that turned into a three-pointer by Bruce Bowen.

Robinson’s defensive presence was partly why the Nets shot just 37 percent. He stood tall in the paint, his 7-foot-1 arms outstretched, and forced New Jersey to go over or around him.

“He’s phenomenal,” said his backup, Malik Rose. “Everything we do in our team defense starts with David. He’s our anchor. Even if he doesn’t block a shot, he changes them.”

Robinson was so good that he had to answer questions about whether this was really goodbye, or would he consider returning next season.

“No, no,” he said, grinning. “I pretty much made up my mind. All the pieces have come together to confirm in my heart this was the right way to do it.”

Part of the right way was not making a big fuss about his exit. Unlike Michael Jordan, who was treated like royalty everywhere he went this season, Robinson got little more than a pat on the back on his final visit across the NBA even though he also was part of the 1992 U.S. Olympic Dream Team and was named one of the 50 greatest players in league history.

“I thought it was perfect,” he said.

New Jersey's Dikembe Mutombo, right, grabs the ball and asks for a time out as San Antonio's Tony Parker steps out-of-bounds. Parker and the Spurs won Game 1 of the NBA Finals, 101-89, Wednesday night in San Antonio.

Well, it was almost perfect. Absolute perfection would be going out with a second title to go with the one he won in 1999.

“To win this championship would be phenomenal because it’s what I’ve been playing for. It’s the only thing I want,” he said. “All the individual stuff doesn’t matter to me. All that matters is this experience, this journey as a team.”

At 37, Robinson is no longer the dominant player he was in the 1990s. He’s not even the second option on offense and at times this postseason has seemed like a forgotten man.

Although still a starter, he came into the finals averaging just 6.8 points, seventh on the team. Rose was even averaging two more minutes than Robinson in the playoffs, a four-minute swing from the regular season.

Spurs fans don’t care. To them, he’s still “5-0,” the most decorated player in team history and one of the classiest acts in all of pro sports. In the pregame introductions, he was the last player called out, not Duncan, and he got the loudest ovation.

If he keeps playing this way, he might not have much longer to keep hearing the cheers. Three more wins, and Robinson’s career will be over — and he’ll go out as a winner.

“I’ve got (up to) six games left,” he said. “I’m going to have some fun.”