Spurs’ Ginobili doubtful for playoff opener

San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili is doubtful for Game 1 against the Memphis Grizzlies after spraining his right elbow in the regular-season finale.

The all-star had an MRI exam Thursday that confirmed the sprain. Ginobili hyperextended the elbow in the first quarter of Wednesday’s loss at Phoenix.

The Spurs said Ginobili will be listed as doubtful for the playoff opener Sunday. San Antonio locked up the No. 1 seed in the West last week and plays the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round.

Coach Gregg Popovich sat his stars Tuesday at the Los Angeles Lakers, but played them against the Suns with the goal of keeping them in a rhythm for the playoffs. The 33-year-old Ginobili averaged 17.4 points this season.

Source: NBA fines Lakers, Jackson $75,000

A person familiar with the decision has told the Associated Press that the Los Angeles Lakers and Phil Jackson each have been fined $75,000 for comments the coach made about collective bargaining. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity Thursday because the league will not announce the fines.

The two fines come a day after the league fined Lakers star Kobe Bryant $100,000 for using a derogatory gay term in frustration over a referee’s call.

Golden State GM gets new contract

New Golden State Warriors owners Joe Lacob and Peter Guber gave general manager Larry Riley a vote of confidence Thursday.

Riley received a new multiyear contract to stay put as GM and executive vice president of basketball operations. Former sports agent Bob Myers was hired as the team’s new assistant GM and vice president of basketball operations to serve as Riley’s right-hand man and contract expert.

Golden State finished the season with a 110-86 home win Wednesday night against the playoff-bound Portland Trail Blazers – and did so without leading scorer Monta Ellis, who sat out his second straight game with a concussion.

- Inquirer wire services

PHOENIX (AP)—The San Antonio Spurs lost a shot at home-court advantage throughout the playoffs and saw a grimacing Manu Ginobili(notes) leave the court in pain early in the game.

Not exactly a beautiful ending to a powerful regular season.

“Now,” coach Gregg Popovich said, “the fun starts.”

Despite the 106-103 loss to Phoenix on Wednesday night, the Spurs are the No. 1 seed in the West and early indications were that Ginobili’s hyperextended elbow wasn’t serious.

Popovich sat Ginobili, Tim Duncan(notes) and Tony Parker(notes) in a loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Tuesday night, but all three were in the starting lineup Wednesday.

“You can’t predict anything and there’s no reason to second guess and I don’t think any one of us are going to do that,” Duncan said. “Luckily, it’s not serious and hopefully he can be ready to go once the playoff starts. You cross your fingers, you hope for that, and you move on.”

The Spurs move on to a first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies, a team that seemed to want to face San Antonio.

“They sat their guys for the last three or four games,” Duncan said. “They’re trying to stay where they’re at. Obviously, they’ve chosen their matchup and want to stick with it.”

Marcin Gortat(notes) had 21 points and 13 rebounds to help the Suns avoid being swept in the four-game regular season series.

The Spurs, at 61-21, finished a game behind Chicago for the best record in the NBA.

Had San Antonio and the Bulls finished tied and faced each other in the NBA finals, home-court advantage would have been determined by a random drawing because all other tiebreakers were equal.

Ginobili went down with 9:46 left in the first quarter. The star guard slid to the floor near the San Antonio free throw line, then the Suns’ Grant Hill(notes) fell on top of him.

X-rays for a more serious injury were negative. An MRI was planned Thursday.

Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker sat out the Spurs’ 102-93 loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles on Tuesday but all three were in the starting lineup against Phoenix. Duncan had 17 points and 12 rebounds in 31 minutes. Parker scored 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting in 25 minutes. Neither were on the court when the game ended.

“Tony’s been under the weather. He got 25 minutes so I thought that was about enough for him,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “We got Timmy about 30 so that was good. They needed to get a good run and they did so they could keep a rhythm. And then you like to win, but we didn’t and that’s the way it goes.”

Channing Frye(notes) and Jared Dudley(notes) scored 17 apiece for the Suns.

“We’ve kind of had our fans on the emotional roller coaster this year,” Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said, “where we played well and then we struggled then we played well.”

Phoenix failed to make the playoffs for the second time in three years after a surprise run to the Western Conference finals a year ago, which included a second-round sweep of San Antonio.

“It’s been a long year so to finish it off with a couple of victories was good,” the Suns’ Steve Nash(notes) said. “I think it was important for us too for our psyche. It’s a good feeling amidst a lot of disappointment.”

Nash, with one year left on his contract with Phoenix, said he has no desire to play elsewhere.

“This is my team,” he said.

The Suns shot out to a 17-point lead in the first quarter Wednesday night and the Spurs never could catch them.

After shooting 65 percent in the first 12 minutes (17 of 26), the Suns made 20 percent (5 of 25) in the second to lead 61-53 at the break.

San Antonio cut it to 66-63 on Parker’s short jumper three minutes into the second half, but an 11-1 Phoenix run made it 77-64 when Dudley made a pair of free throws with 5:01 to play in the period.

Down 85-74 after three, the Spurs came back to make it a free throw shootout down the stretch. Aaron Brooks(notes) sank two from the line to put Phoenix ahead 106-103 with 3.9 seconds to go. Gary Neal(notes) threw up an airball from the corner for San Antonio just before the buzzer.

NOTES: Hill became the seventh player in NBA history to average at least 13 points at age 38 or older. … Ginobili missed two games this season, only one because of injury: March 28 against Portland because of a bruised left quad. … Nash led the NBA in assists for the fifth time, joining John Stockton and Jason Kidd(notes) as the only players to do so. … San Antonio had the best record in the West for the sixth time in franchise history—five of them with Duncan. … The Suns won 40 games for the seventh straight season.

POSTED: Wednesday, April 6, 2011

UPDATED: 12:30 am CDT April 7, 2011

SAN ANTONIO — Manu Ginobili knows fortunes can change quickly in the NBA.

Last week, the Spurs were in jeopardy of losing the top seed in the Western Conference to the Los Angeles Lakers after dropping six straight games.

Now, San Antonio has home-court advantage throughout the West playoffs after Ginobili scored 25 points in a 124-92 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.

The Spurs improved their NBA-best record to 60-19 and clinched home-court advantage throughout the West playoffs later Wednesday when the Lakers lost at Golden State.

“We knew we weren’t going to lose every single game [the rest of the way],” Ginobili said. “We had a few good games we just couldn’t win. We had a better schedule over the last three games. We won an important game in Atlanta and we got lucky that the Lakers lost to the Jazz.”

George Hill scored 12 of his 19 points during the third quarter, when the Spurs outscored the Kings by 20 in their best offensive quarter of the season.

“[After the first half], I knew we needed some fire coming off the bench,” Hill said. “I just tried to be aggressive and give a spark. I think it helped and got other people involved, too.”

Tyreke Evans led the Kings with 16 points and rookie DeMarcus Cousins added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

San Antonio held Sacramento to 36 percent shooting in the third (9 of 25) and 40 percent for the game.

“We didn’t make shots and they did and they got a lot of points off the fast break,” Evans said. “They’re a veteran team and they know how to finish. They make a lot of high percentage shots. They cut hard and swing the ball side to side. They set picks and make the defense move side to side. It’s hard.”

The 32-point victory is the largest for the Spurs this season, surpassing the 30-point win over Miami in March.

San Antonio has won three straight after losing six in a row. San Antonio also has a two-game lead over the Chicago Bulls for the NBA’s top seed.

The Spurs had their best-shooting quarter of the season in the third to push past the visiting Kings, scoring a season-high 41 points and shooting a season-best 82 percent (14 of 17) to outscore the Kings by 20 and take a 92-70 lead.

San Antonio, which made just one 3-pointer against Atlanta on Tuesday, shot 63 percent (12 of 19), with Ginobili going 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.

The Spurs were aggressive, attacking the basket more against the Kings, and used good ball movement to find the open man for high-percentage shots.

“In the first half, everything was working,” Sacramento center Samuel Dalembert said. “That’s how the game goes. The Spurs weren’t missing anything and they pulled away from us.”

Dalembert finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Rookie Gary Neal added 14 points off the bench for the Spurs.

With the Spurs clinging to a two-point lead after Dalembert’s jumper early in the third, Ginobili’s 3-pointer ignited a 20-6 run that was the turning point in the game.

The Kings held a four-point lead late in the second, but Ginobili scored on consecutive dunks off turnovers by the Kings and fed a wide-open Hill under the basket that helped the Spurs regain a 51-49 lead at halftime and fueled the third quarter surge.

Ginobili said Saturday’s game against the Jazz is huge to keep the momentum going and keep the confidence level high in the locker room.

“We know we have a big chance on Saturday against the Jazz,” he said. “We were a little worried [during our losing streak]. We knew it wasn’t the end of the world to finish second, but at the same time after the kind of season we had, we wanted it. We got a great opportunity, it’s not over yet, and we definitely want to get the next one.”

Tony Parker scored 15 points and Tim Duncan had 12 points for the Spurs.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Manu Ginobili scored 25 points and the San Antonio Spurs moved to the brink of the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a 124-92 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.

The Spurs improved their NBA-best record to 60-19 and can clinch home-court advantage throughout the West playoffs with their next victory or loss by the Los Angeles Lakers.

George Hill scored 12 of his 19 points during the third quarter, when the Spurs outscored the Kings by 20 in their best offensive quarter of the season.

Tyreke Evans led the Kings with 16 points and rookie DeMarcus Cousins added 15 points and 10 rebounds.

San Antonio has won three straight after losing six in a row to fall into jeopardy of losing the top seed to the then-streaking Lakers. San Antonio has a 3 1/2-game lead over the Lakers in the West and a two-game lead over the Chicago Bulls for the NBA’s top seed.

The Spurs had their best-shooting quarter of the season in the third to push past the visiting Kings, scoring a season-high 41 points and shooting a season-best 82 percent (14 of 17) to outscore the Kings by 20 and take a 92-70 lead.

Rookie Gary Neal added 14 points off the bench for the Spurs.

With the Spurs clinging to a two-point lead after Samuel Dalembert’s jumper early in the third, Ginobili’s 3-pointer ignited a 20-6 run that was the turning point in the game.

The Kings held a four-point lead late in the second, but Ginobili scored on consecutive dunks off turnovers by the Kings and fed a wide-open Hill under the basket that helped the Spurs regain a 51-49 lead at halftime.

Tony Parker scored 15 points and Tim Duncan had 12 points for the Spurs.