NBA Minus Duncan, Spurs beat Heat

The Los Angeles Lakers visit San Antonio on Thursday.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- Without Tim Duncan, San Antonio had all it could handle with winless Miami.
Next up for the Spurs: the unbeaten Los Angeles Lakers.
Duncan will still be sidelined with a sprained left ankle when the undefeated Lakers visit the SBC Center on Thursday night, and the Spurs probably will be without starting point guard Tony Parker, also out with a sprained left ankle.
But the patched-together Spurs say they'll be as ready as they can be against the team they dethroned as NBA champions.
"We have a tough job, but I think it'll be a good game," said guard Manu Ginobili, who led the Spurs with 15 points Tuesday night in an 80-73 win over Miami.
Veteran challenge
Kevin Willis, at age 41 the league's oldest player, will share the sizable burden of trying to contain Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal.
"I won't back down from anybody," said Willis, who scored 13 points in 15 minutes against the Heat. "It's a challenge, and I don't mind taking on all challenges."
The Spurs had a challenge on their hands with the Heat, who flew into San Antonio thinking they could win.
Eddie Jones led Miami with 26 points, all but four in the first half, before he fouled out with less than five minutes left. Lamar Odom added 14 points and 12 rebounds.
"I thought coming in that tonight might be the night for us," Jones said. "I thought we had an excellent chance to win one here."
A driving basket by Lamar Odom with 2:13 remaining cut the Spurs' lead to 74-73. But Ginobili found Rasho Nesterovic for a dunk with 1:13 remaining, and both Jason Hart and Ginobili made a pair of free throws in the final 16 seconds to seal the victory.
Rose nets 14
Malik Rose had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs (3-2), and Nesterovic had 14 points and nine rebounds.
The Spurs helped Miami's chances by making only half of their 20 free throws in the first half, but San Antonio turned it around after the break, making 16 of 21.
"It was an ugly game," Heat coach Stan Van Gundy said. "They killed us on fast-break points (16-6) and second-chance points (20-7)."
Duncan sprained his left ankle Monday night in a loss in Memphis and will be sidelined for one to three weeks. Parker, injured in an exhibition game, has not played in the regular season.
Miami made only three of its 14 shots in the opening period, but the Heat warmed up in the second period.
With the Spurs ahead 26-14, Jones made a short fadeaway jumper. He scored 15 more points in the quarter to finish the half with 22 on 7-for-10 shooting.
The Heat went ahead briefly late in the half before San Antonio regained the lead at 42-41 in the final minute on a 12-footer by Hedo Turkoglu.
Also missing for the Spurs was coach Gregg Popovich, suspended for bumping an official Monday while arguing on the court.
Assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo filled in for the night.