The San Antonio Spurs suffered a major setback Monday night as All-Star guard Manu Ginobli broke a bone in his right hand and is expected to be out for four to six weeks. It happened midway through the second quarter and was the turning point in the game, as the Spurs lost their defensive focus and ultimately could not keep up with Minnesota’s hot shooting, losing the game 106-96.

The loss of Ginobli is a huge blow to the Spurs who had centered their entire offense around the multi-talented Argentinian this year. The Spurs medical staff reported he had broken the fifth metatarsal bone on his shooting hand and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks.

His absence obviously means more minutes for younger players like James Anderson and TJ Ford, but also means a major revamping of the offensive scheme. No Ginobli also throws a monkey-wrench in Coach Pop’s long-tern plan to keep down the playing time of his veteran players like Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, who are now almost certainly going to have to log more minutes in order for the Spurs to stay competitive.

Beating San Antonio the night after they broke their 18-game losing streak is a major accomplishment for the Timberwolves. That kind of emotional resilience demonstrates that the Rick Adelman system is already taking hold in Minnesota and augurs well for the talented young team.

The Timberwolves started off hot and dominated the first quarter 35-25. The Spurs responded to the loss of Ginobli in the second, and cut it to a seven point lead at half. But the Timberwolves shooting remained hot, and eventually proved too much for the Spurs as they coasted to a 10 point win with both teams looking tired in the fourth.

The Spurs were led by Tim Duncan and Richard Jefferson with 16 each. Tony Parker with 11 and Tiago Splitter with 12 points were the only other Spurs in double figures. Minnesota Forward Kevin love continued his breakout year, with 24 points and 15 rebounds. Luke Ridenour also chipped in 19 points and 9 assists. Ricky Rubio had an off night with just six points and three assists.

San Antonio moves to 3-2 on the season with the loss. The Spurs have Tuesday off and then travel to California to play the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night.

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Some say the San Antonio Spurs will go as far as their so-called Big three – Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili – will carry them this year.

That may be so, but the notion that they are an old team getting older may not be the case as some believe.

Without much fanfare, the Spurs have brought in some young blood and it was evident that some of those new and young players have improved enough to help the team. That was clear Monday night as the Spurs raced past the Memphis Grizzlies, 95-82 in the season’s opener.

As usual, the top two scorers were Ginobili with 24 and Parker with 15. A pleasant surprise was Richard Jefferson who chipped in 14, most of them coming in the second period. If Jefferson continues to contribute, then the trade that didn’t happen will be a good move for the Spurs.

The good news Monday night was that the Spurs used defense to hold back a team that manhandled them last year and eliminated them from the playoffs. Defense was the Spurs forte when they were winning NBA titles a few years ago but last year, the Spurs were slow on defense and that’s why many thought they were getting old and out of contention.

A lot of the Spurs defensive pressure Monday night came from Parker who had four steals and from Kawhi Leonard, a rookie who came to San Antonio after they traded away popular guard George Hill, a great defender in his own right.

Leonard showed good defense and his all-around hustle and speed seemed to feed off on the other Spurs who made the Grizzlies look like an ordinary team – especially in the third period when the Spurs outscored them 29-14.

Former Texas Longhorn guard TJ. Ford showed flashes of his Longhorn self with his ability to handle the ball and find the open man. He made some nifty passes that led to points and it looks like he’ll help the team.

Another pleasant surprise, as far as I’m concerned, was the play and improvement of Tiago Splitter, the 7-foot center from Brazil, who was a disappointment last year. Injuries had a lot to do with his slow start but I’m hopeful that he’ll turn into one of the league’s top big men and take pressure off Duncan who is the Spurs only dominant big man in the middle.

As long as the big three of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker stay healthy, the Spurs should be in the thick of the race for another title as we start the new year fresh.

Here’s wishing the Spurs much success in 2011 and to all of you a prosperous New Year.

The AT&T Center was rocking for the San Antonio Spurs NBA season-opener Monday night. It was a sell out crowd, including Spurs owner Peter Holt, actor Tommy Lee Jones and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin of Baylor, and the home team did not disappoint pulling away for a 95-82 win over Memphis. The crowd was very much into the game, as fans all across Texas (including myself) were happy that the delayed NBA season was finally underway.

The victory was sweet revenge for San Antonio, as they were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round last year by the Grizzlies. It should also be noted that the Grizzlies are at full strength now with Rudy Gay back from injury, and everyone on the roster relatively healthy at this point.

The first half of the game was a back and forth affair, with the Spurs getting off to a slow start in the first quarter but coming on in the second. Memphis scored 22 points in both quarters of the first half to take a one point lead into the locker room.

Coach Popovich must have given the Spurs a rousing halftime speech as the came out breathing fire on defense in the third quarter, holding the Grizzlies to just 15 points while putting up 29. Memphis could not play enough defense to slow the Spurs down and San Antonio ended up with a 13 point margin of victory.

It took the Spurs a few minutes to get into form, but overall it was the Grizzlies who seemed rusty on the court. Memphis coach Lionel Hollins summed up his team’s performance succinctly, “We didn’t play well at all.”

Manu Ginobli was the leading scorer for the Spurs and in the game with 24 points. Second year center Tiago Splitter also turned in a solid performance with 5 points and 8 rebounds. Rudy Gay led Memphis with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The Spurs went back to the old-style in your face defense that has been their trademark to notch this win, and coach Pop wisely limited Tim Duncan to just 22 minutes in the game. The Spurs face another talented young team in the up-and-coming Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday December 28 in LA.

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Ginobili scored 24 points and San Antonio ran away from what barely resembled the up-and-coming Memphis team that stunned the 61-win Spurs in the first round last season, beating the Grizzlies 95-82 on Monday night.

San Antonio began what could be Tim Duncan’s final season with a satisfying bit of payback but otherwise didn’t read much into the victory. Take Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol, who utterly bullied the Spurs in that playoff series but combined for just 23 points this time.

“Zac was off. He didn’t have of these games in the playoffs,” Ginobili said. “That happens the first game of the season. We all need time to get back in shape. “

Rudy Gay led Memphis with 19 points and 10 rebounds in his first game in nearly 10 months. Gay missed the end of last season with a bad left shoulder, including when Memphis knocked out the top-seeded Spurs.

Yet even with the full starting lineup that Memphis would’ve preferred in last year’s playoffs, the Grizzlies still remained winless on opening night since the franchise left Vancouver in 2001.

Not quite the start the NBA’s breakout team of last season had in mind.

“We didn’t play very well. We did turn the ball over alot, but we didn’t guard,” Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said. “We didn’t guard them in the pick in roll. We gave up transition points. It was not a very well-played game by us at all.”

The Grizzlies committed 24 turnovers. Randolph had 10 points and six rebounds and Gasol had 13 and six. In the playoffs series against the Spurs, Randolph averaged 21.5 points.

It’s not like the Spurs got any bigger to defend the Grizzlies’ big frontline. DeJuan Blair, the 6-foot-7 center deemed too ineffective by coach Gregg Popovich to even play Games 5 and 6 against Memphis, was back in the starting lineup.

The Spurs have precious few alternatives: forward Antonio McDyess officially retired in training camp, and they haven’t added a big man to replace him. Yet San Antonio was helped by 7-footer Tiago Splitter, who didn’t look as lost as he did as rookie against Memphis last season.

“He was really solid,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He stayed in good position, he blocked shots and he rebounded. He was real special tonight.”

Mike Conley had 11 points and seven assists for the Grizzlies. Memphis led by one at halftime but were blown out in the third quarter after shooting just 29 percent from the floor.

Despite the loss, Gay was satisfied with his return.

“It’s kind of bittersweet we lost, but it good that I’m healthy and I can get out there and play,” he said.

Richard Jefferson, once thought to be a goner in San Antonio under the NBA’s new amnesty clause, added 14 points for the Spurs. Duncan had 10 points in 22 minutes as the challenge of rationing the 35-year-old’s minutes in a compressed, grueling schedule began.

Duncan is playing in the final year of his contract but hasn’t said whether this will be his last run for a fifth title.

If Duncan and the Spurs have one last championship run left in them, there was no better first test than Memphis. The bigger and quicker Grizzlies gave the aging Spurs fits in the playoffs last April even without Gay, who had been Memphis’ second-leading scorer.

For opening night, at least, San Antonio showed it can still keep up.

Leonard can take some credit for that. The 15th overall pick brought a jolt off the bench in the third quarter when the Spurs opened up a 19-point lead despite trailing at halftime. Leonard had six points during the stretch, including hitting a corner 3-pointer after catching a nifty behind-the-back pass from Ginobili.

Leonard is the centerpiece of what the Spurs are calling their youth movement — seven of their 13 players have fewer than three years of experience. But the face and fortunes of the franchise still firmly belong to Parker, Ginobili and Duncan, who started their 10th season together.

Notes: Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III watched the game with some of his Baylor teammates. The Bears are in town to play Washington in the Alamo Bowl on Thursday…Academy Award winner Tommy Lee Jones, who owns a home in San Antonio, sat courtside with Spurs owner Peter Holt. …The Spurs remain without G Gary Neal after the second-year backup had his appendix removed during training camp.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VALENCIA, Spain — Valencia Basket says San Antonio Spurs centre Tiago Splitter has agreed to a deal to play for the Spanish club until the NBA lockout ends.

The 26-year-old Brazilian forward, who also has a Spanish passport, needs to pass a medical test before he can play for the club.

Valencia Basket said Thursday on its website that Splitter “has reached a deal to join the club immediately.”

Splitter averaged 4.6 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in his rookie season for the Spurs, who selected him with the 28th overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft.

The six-foot-11 Splitter previously played for Saski Baskonia in Spain.