Spurs held a 3-2 series lead and were leeading by f

Those 36-year-old legs of Manu Ginobilis have been feeling pretty spry this season. That spring in his step that had been missing for so much of last season was back, helping the Argentine magician become a game-changer again for the San Antonio Spurs. So when the lane opened up in the third quarter Tuesday night against the Houston Rockets, Ginobili decided to go for it. He rose up, cradled the ball in his left hand and threw down a solid, one-handed dunk. And with that, Ginobili joined the growing list of injured Spurs. The team said Wednesday that Ginobili strained his left hamstring on the dunk and will miss the next three to four weeks. Ginobili joins Danny Green (broken finger), Kawhi Leonard (broken left hand) and Tiago Splitter (sprained right shoulder) on the teams injured list, a run of bad luck that has torn apart the teams depth, particularly on the wing. "You play the guys on the bench," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "We cant play the guys on the other team. I know that." The team is hopeful Splitter, who hasnt played since Jan. 4, will return in time for the teams annual rodeo road trip, a 10-game stint that begins Monday in New Orleans. That would help out Tim Duncan and the big men up front, but the problems on the perimeter remain. After struggling for much of last season, Ginobili signed a two-year contract to remain in San Antonio. He has rebounded this season to resume his role as the Spurs playmaker off the bench, averaging 12.1 points, 4.5 assists and shooting 52 per cent on his 2-point shots. During a monthlong stretch from the middle of December to the middle of January, Ginobili scored at least 20 points five times in a 16-game span to help the Spurs once again establish themselves among the NBAs elite teams. Hes been pretty healthy as well, missing two games earlier in January because of a sore left hamstring before injuring it more severely on Tuesday night. Ginobili, who has long been the emotional centre of this close-knit team, was dejected as he limped off the court. His injury puts even more responsibility on the shoulders of veteran Marco Belinelli, who has been a reliable shooter in a supporting role after coming over in free agency from the Chicago Bulls. Belinelli is averaging 10.9 points and shooting 46.7 per cent from 3-point range for the Spurs. With the injuries to Leonard and Green, Belinelli had become a starter on the wing and seen his playing time steadily increase. Belinelli played 38 minutes in the loss to Houston, and the Spurs recently signed NBDL standout Othyus Jeffers to a 10-day contract to give them another warm body on the perimeter. Thanks in large part to Ginobilis return to form, the Spurs entered Wednesdays game against the Bulls at 33-12, good for second place in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. But theyve lost three of their last four games, are 1-11 against the top seven teams in the league and now face the daunting challenge of that long road trip without Ginobili, and with Portland (33-13) and the Clippers (32-15) right on their heels. Chicago is facing its own injuries woes. All-Star point guard Derrick Rose was lost for the season with a knee injury for the second consecutive year and starting centre Joakim Noah (illness) and guard Kirk Hinrich (right hamstring) are game-time decisions for tonights game against San Antonio. So, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said he has little empathy for the Spurs, not because Chicago is also battling injuries, but because of how deep San Antonio is. "Its the nature of the league. Its the grind of an 82-game season. Youre going to take injuries on. Its how you respond and the Spurs have always done a good job with that. Its the way the Spurs are built." Ivan Rodriguez Jersey . -- Even as Chris Paul remained evasive about his future, he did what team leaders are expected to do. Rougned Odor Jersey . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. http://www.texasrangersshop.com/rangers-nolan-ryan-jersey/ . Dumont, a fifth round draft pick of the Canadiens in 2009, has four assists and 20 penalty minutes in 12 games with the Bulldogs this season. The 23-year-old split last season between Hamilton and Montreal, recording 16 goals and 15 assists in 55 regular season games with the Bulldogs. Custom Texas Rangers Jerseys . The Boston Celtics hadnt played since the All-Star break. So the Suns 100-94 victory over Boston Wednesday night was an uphill affair, with Phoenix relying on balance rather than its trademark high energy. Texas Rangers Jerseys . The Cavs announced the move Saturday, one day after LeBron James said hes returning to Cleveland. A 12-year veteran, Haywood has played in 794 NBA games, averaging 6.MIAMI -- A year ago, the Spurs-Heat matchup in the NBA Finals was considered a classic. And now, an encore awaits. For the first time since 1998, the NBA Finals is a rematch. San Antonio and Miami will decide the leagues champion for the second straight season, the Spurs earning their spot Saturday night by beating Oklahoma City 112-107 in overtime in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals. Miami -- the NBAs two-time defending champion -- eliminated Indiana from the East finals Friday night, also in six games. "The two best teams will meet," Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. "Were just happy and excited that were one of the best." The Spurs and Heat split two meetings this season, both winning by comfortable margins at home. Game 1 of this years Finals is Thursday night in San Antonio. "Its unbelievable to regain that focus after that devastating loss that we had last year," San Antonios Tim Duncan said. "But were back here. Were excited about it. Weve got four more to win. Well do it this time." Its the sixth trip to the Finals for San Antonio, which won titles in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007 before falling to the Heat last season in a series that had some unbelievable drama. The Spurs held a 3-2 series lead and were leeading by five points with 28.dddddddddddd2 seconds left in Game 6 at Miami, before Ray Allens 3-pointer capped a wild rally and forced overtime, where the Heat ultimately prevailed. Miami then won Game 7, 95-88. The Heat are heading to the Finals for the fourth straight season and fifth time overall, beating Dallas in 2006, losing to the Mavericks in 2011, then topping Oklahoma City in 2012 and the Spurs last season. The Spurs -- who had the leagues best regular-season record, 62-20 -- are now the eighth franchise in league history with at least six trips to the championship round, and would be just the fourth franchise with as many as five NBA titles. "We know were facing a very talented and tough team and its going to be rough," the Spurs Manu Ginobili said. "But of course, we believe in our means and were going to do our best, as always." Both teams have a multi-time Finals MVP. Duncan has won it three times for the Spurs; LeBron James has won it twice for the Heat, and will look to join only Michael Jordan and Shaquille ONeal on the list of players to receive that award in three consecutive seasons. The last Finals rematch came in 1998 when Chicago beat Utah for the last of Jordans six championships. ' ' '