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.

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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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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.

That’s all the news for today.

VALENCIA, Spain — Valencia Basket says San Antonio Spurs center 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 2.11-meter (6-foot-11) Splitter previously played for Saski Baskonia in Spain.

Thanks for reading! .

VALENCIA, Spain (AP)—Valencia Basket says San Antonio Spurs center Tiago
Splitter(notes) 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 2.11-meter (6-foot-11) Splitter previously played for Saski Baskonia in
Spain.

What are your opinions.

Read More: fiba americas championship 2011, fiba, Marcus Vinicius (F – MEM), Manu Ginobili (G – SAN), Luis Scola (F – HOU), Tiago Splitter (F – SAN)

Luis Scola scored a tournament-high 32 points when it counted most, as the Houston Rockets forward led Argentina to a home victory in the title game of the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship on Sunday, as the Argentines knocked off Brazil 80-75. 

Brazil had a good effort from their own frontcourt, as Marcus Vinicius (a former New Orleans Hornet) scored 17 points and San Antonio Spurs big man Tiago Splitter added 12. But Scola and the Milwaukee Bucks’ Carlos Delfino (16 points, nine rebounds) were too much.

Scola was joined on the all-tournament team by teammate Manu Ginobili, the Dominican Republic’s Al Horford, Puerto Rico’s Carlos Arroyo and Brazil’s Marcelo Huertas.

The win is Argentina’s second FIBA Americas championship. The last came a decade ago, and represents the start of the nation’s incredible run of success. Argentina won gold in the 2004 Athens Olympics and bronze in the 2008 games in Beijing, and is now No. 3 in the world behind just the United States and Spain. Next summer’s Olympics in London could represent the end of the road for this patch of Argentine players, as the core of the team is getting up there in age.

Not much else going on in the NBA world today.

SAN ANTONIO (AP)—The Memphis Grizzlies own the first upset of the NBA playoffs, and they made history in the process.

Zach Randolph(notes) had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and Shane Battier(notes) hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 23.9 seconds left, and the eighth-seeded Grizzlies won the first playoff game in franchise history, 101-98 over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.

Randolph, who scored nine in the fourth quarter and punished San Antonio under the basket, might have saved his hardest contact for a chest bump with Mike Conley(notes) after the final buzzer. The rest of the Grizzlies bench spilled onto the court, waving towels and leaping back into the locker room.

Memphis began the playoffs with the motto “Let’s Make History,” and it needed just one game to do it. Sixteen years after the franchise debuted in Vancouver, the Grizzlies finally savored their first playoff win in 13 tries.

The top-seeded Spurs didn’t stick around to watch Memphis celebrate. San Antonio had a chance to force overtime, but Richard Jefferson(notes) missed an open 3-pointer as time expired.

Tony Parker(notes) led the Spurs with 20 points, but they sorely missed All-Star Manu Ginobili(notes), who continued to rest his sprained right elbow. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Ginobili begged to play, and it’s safe bet the All-Star won’t have to convince Popovich for Game 2 on Wednesday.

The Grizzlies spent the week insisting they didn’t tank their final two games to assure they’d get the Spurs. But the way Randolph and Marc Gasol(notes) bullied San Antonio in the frontcourt, Memphis showed that San Antonio isn’t such a bad matchup.

Gasol had 24 points and nine rebounds. Conley scored 15 points and had 10 assists, and O.J. Mayo(notes) had 13 points off the bench.

Tim Duncan(notes) had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who lost their sixth straight playoff series opener.

And watching this latest one on the bench was Ginobili.

The Spurs listed him as doubtful entering Sunday. But between the 33-year-old practicing a day earlier and his teammates convinced he would play, seeing Ginobili in lineup wouldn’t have been much of a stretch. Instead, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich played it safe.

“You know (darn) well he’s not happy with me. And you know (darn) well he wants to be on that court,” Popovich said before tip-off. “But I made my decision.”

Popovich wouldn’t speculate whether Ginobili might play in Game 2 on Wednesday.

The Spurs badly missed him. George Hill(notes) started in Ginobili’s place but went just 2 of 7 from the floor and finished with 15 points. The NBA’s top 3-point shooting team also suffered without Ginobili’s range and penetration to draw in perimeter defenders.

The Spurs were 6 of 15 from behind the 3-point line. Matt Bonner(notes) hit two of those in the final 2:09, his second one putting San Antonio ahead 96-94 with 1:28 remaining.

But the veteran and four-time champion Spurs couldn’t close against the inexperienced Grizzlies, who have just four players on their roster with playoff experience.

It’s only the fourth playoff series in franchise history for Memphis, and its first appearance since being swept out of the first round in 2006.

Notes: The Spurs used a rotation of just eight players. Among those who didn’t play was rookie 7-footer Tiago Splitter(notes). …The Grizzlies are now 3-2 against the Spurs this season.

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Read More: Matt Barnes (F – LAL), Richard Jefferson (F – SAN), Ron Artest (F – LAL), Derek Fisher (G – LAL), Steve Blake (G – LAL), Pau Gasol (F – LAL), Manu Ginobili (G – SAN), Tim Duncan (F – SAN), Tony Parker (G – SAN), Andrew Bynum (C – LAL), Kobe Bryant (G – LAL), Tiago Splitter (F – SAN), George Hill (G – SAN), DeJuan Blair (C – SAN), Gregg Popovich (H – SAN), Gary Neal (G – SAN), San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers are trying to snap their five-game losing streak Tuesday night at Staples Center, and they are receiving some help from the San Antonio Spurs. Coach Gregg Popovich is resting his stars Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili tonight. The Spurs have the top seed in the Western Conference locked up already.

The Lakers have a magic number of two to clinch the No. 2 seed in the West. The Lakers will be without Steve Blake, who has the chickenpox, and Matt Barnes, who has right knee soreness. Here are tonight’s starting lineups:

Spurs

Lakers

For more news and information on the Lakers, or on tonight’s game, be sure to read the SB Nation blog Silver Screen and Roll.

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