OKLAHOMA CITY — In a turn of events about as unexpected as a sunrise, Tim Duncan was asked to bring a sport coat to the Ford Center.
After his 33-year-old All-Star forward logged nearly 40 minutes a night earlier in a victory against the Lakers, and with his team in the midst of five games in 61/2 days, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich gave Duncan the night off in Wednesday's 109-108 overtime win over Oklahoma City.
Popovich all but guaranteed it won't be the last time Duncan is inactive this season.
“That's just part of rest and recovery,” Popovich said. “We're going to make him sit out more back-to-backs than we ever have before, and see if it pays dividends come playoff time.”
It marked the third missed game of the season for Duncan, who was sidelined for two games in November with ankle swelling.
Popovich went small without Duncan, moving the 6-foot-7 Richard Jefferson to power forward, the 6-5 Keith Bogans to small forward and starting Roger Mason Jr. at shooting guard.
Popovich said he has no immediate plans to rest point guard Tony Parker, who said Tuesday he has been playing with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. After scoring 28 points Wednesday against Oklahoma City, Parker said his foot felt fine.
Ghostbusters: The Spurs spent Tuesday night at The Skirvin Hilton, an Oklahoma City hotel rumored to be haunted. Earlier in the week, several members of the Knicks blamed their loss to the Thunder on bumps in the night at the spooky inn.
Spurs guard George Hill didn't know what to make of his sleepover at the Skirvin.
“I stayed up all night listening for strange noises,” he said.
Manu Ginobili, unsurprisingly, was unfazed by the ghost stories. After all, he's already taken on a bat this season.
“No problems at all,” Ginobili said. “I slept like a baby.”
On the whole, the Spurs didn't seem too spooked by the experience. They planned to stay Wednesday night there, too, instead of heading on to Charlotte.
Vote for KD: Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant is fifth among forwards in the Western Conference All-Star balloting, not within striking distance of cracking the team's starting lineup.
It seems a slam-dunk he will be added as a reserve to his first All-Star team by the coaches. Durant, the third-year player from Texas, ranks fourth in the NBA at 28.8 points per game.
After scoring 35 points against the Spurs on Wednesday, it sounded as if Durant were close to securing Popovich's vote.
“He's one of the toughest covers in the whole league, and one of the best players,” Popovich said. “I haven't sat down and listed names, and who else is doing well, but he will certainly be in the mix for being picked.”
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