With four players out for the San Antonio Spurs last night, the odds were stacked against them from the start. Tony Parker and Antonio McDyess joined Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan as spectators, while several second unit players were asked to step into starting roles.

"I think we’re good enough to do that," George Hill said. "I think the Spurs organization has enough guys that can go in and fill spots and give 100% every night. You have to give our guys credit for doing that tonight"

While they made it much more competitive than most expected, it wasn't enough to stop them from losing their fourth consecutive game, 92-100.

While the Spurs seemed well on their way to ending their streak by outscoring the Trailblazers 21-9 in the third quarter and building up an eight point advantage in the fourth quarter, they watched their lead and game slip away on a 15-1 run by Portland.

While the injuries brought another loss and decreased the gap between the Lakers and Spurs for the first seed, it also gave some little-used players a chance to play some big minutes and show what they are capable of.

James Anderson, who had played a total of 10 minutes in his last three games, was inserted into the starting lineup and scored his first five points in the first quarter, while also defending on the perimeter well.

Tiago Splitter continues to play well in Duncan's absence. He finished with 14 points and nice rebounds, and helped limit LaMarcus Aldridge to just nine points. Steve Novak, Danny Green, Gary Neal and Chris Quinn also chipped in with a combined 30 points off the bench.

"I liked the way everybody played," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I thought everybody busted their noodles on defense and shared the ball on offense. George Hill and Tiago were really special for us tonight."

It was Hill, who would lead the Spurs their second straight game, after scoring 30 against Memphis. Hill was aggressive going to the basket all game. He finished with a game-high 27 points, six assists and one steal.
 
With the loss, the Spurs are now 57-17 on the season and they have a 3.5 game advantage over the Lakers with eight games remaining. With their win over the Spurs, the Blazers have won the season series 3-1. 

• It's that time San Antonio Spurs fans. Playoff tickets will be available this Saturday for the opening round:

Spurs Playoff tickets for Round 1, games A & B range in price from $10 to $295, including lower-level seats starting at $88. Dates, times and opponent for the Spurs first round NBA Playoff schedule will be announced at a later date.

Playoff tickets can be purchased at all Ticketmaster Ticket Center locations, including select H-E-B locations, charge by phone at (210) 225-TEAM or online at spurs.com or ticketmaster.com.

Playoff tickets can also be purchased at the AT&T Center Southeast Box Office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. and weekend event days only, beginning at 10 a.m.

• See what R.C. Buford had to say about Tim Duncan's injury at Spurs.com.

• Express News' Tim Griffin talks about the upcoming games for the Spurs.

• Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich on Steve Novak's inbound pass that sailed out of bounds in the loss to the Portland Trail Blazers:

Asked about the play, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich offered: “Yeah, we wanted to throw it straight out of bounds without anybody touching it.” (nba.com)

• Speaking of the Spurs loss to the Blazers, woai.com asks who is the bigger bonehead -- the Spurs for losing to the Blazers or former NFL player Lawrence Taylor?

• RedsArmy.com watches every move the Spurs make. Celtics fans know the Spurs might give their team some problems this Thursday if Duncan and Manu Ginobili return to action.

Hit the jump to read about a former Spur making it in the NBA, an injured Celtic to make his return versus the Spurs, and more.

Antonio McDyess and Tony Parker will be joining Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili in street clothes on the bench as the Spurs take on the Portland Trailblazers tonight.

With McDyess and Parker out, the starting lineup is now made up of George Hill, James Anderson, Richard Jefferson, Matt Bonner and Tiago Splitter.

It'll be interesting to see what Anderson can do with the starting group, especially since he's seen about a combined 10 minutes of playing time in his last eight games.

Hill, who scored 30 against Memphis, will be asked to be one of the main contributors tonight. 

The San Antonio Spurs, today, announced that they have assigned newly-signed forward Da'Sean Butler to the Austin Toros.

Butler was cleared to play three weeks ago, and will be joining the Toros for their final three regular season games on a rehab stint, similar to James Anderson's two stints with Austin.

Butler, a 6-7, 230-pound forward out of the University of West Virginia, was signed by the Spurs on March 25. He was originally selected by the Miami Heat with the 42nd pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. He signed with the Heat on August 30 and was later waived on October 25. He has been out of action since suffering a torn left ACL in the 2010 Final Four against Duke on April 3. Butler played four seasons with the Mountaineers, finishing with 107 career wins, the most in school history. As a senior, he was named First Team All-Big East, averaging a team-high 17.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 38 games.

The extra help at small forward couldn't come at a better time, as the Toros have not announced a timeline for forward Lance Thomas' return after he suffered an epileptic seizure during Saturday's game against the Idaho Stampede.

With the loss of Thomas, the Toros went to a three guard lineup on Sunday. The Toros are also one of several bubble teams batting for a playoff seed. If Butler can contribute right away, that could help their cause even more.

For more on the Austin Toros, visit our affiliate site, TorosNation.com. 

The Chicago Bulls may be sitting atop the Eastern Conference at 53-19 but according to Ronnie Brewer they want the best record in the NBA and are gunning for the San Antonio Spurs:

"We're trying to win as many games as we possibly can because we know it's a tough race in the East," Brewer said after Monday morning's shootaround. "We're not just striving to be the first in our conference. We're trying to go out there and get the Spurs and have the best overall record in the league." (espn.com)

Currently, San Antonio holds the league's best record at 57-16 and are on a three-game losing streak. Without two of their All-Stars -- Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan -- who are nursing injuries, the Spurs might drop a few more games with nine games left in the regular season.

The Bulls are on a four-game winning streak and trail the Spurs by 3 1/2 games.

The Spurs will look to snap their losing streak tonight against the Portland Trail Blazers in San Antonio without the services of Ginobili and Duncan and maintain their hold on the NBA's best record.

San Antonio Spurs' Manu Ginobili will not be in action tonight as the Spurs host the Portland Trail Blazers.

Ginobili suffered a thigh contusion in last night's loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.

This will make avenging Portland's recent win over the Spurs in Portland with Tim Duncan still out of action due to an ankle injury.

As if dealing with injuries to two All-Stars is not enough, Matt Bonner is on a shooting slump.

It's not a secret that his ability to stretch the floor is an important part of the San Antonio Spurs' offense and it could be argued this is one of his better season as a Spur as his shooting accuracy has improved steadily for the most part of the season until this month.

Bonner's outside shooting will be crucial for the Spurs towards the end of the regular season especially with Tim Duncan being sidelined due to a sprained ankle injury. While Bonner's offensive production may not be the gauge of the Spurs' success he has certainly helped the team win some ball games.

Here are some interesting numbers.

The Spurs are:

The San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers are streaking. Except the Spurs are on a three-game losing streak while the Lakers are on a seven-game winning streak.

Now the gap between the Spurs and Lakers is down to four games with nine games remaining.

With the Spurs slumping due to injuries to All-Stars Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, could the Lakers be looking to seize control of the number one seed heading into the playoffs?

No they aren't according to Lakers head coach Phil Jackson:

"All things are possible in this game in that kind of situation," Jackson said. "Until you're mathematically eliminated, you just keep playing."

While the Lakers have talked about wanting to nail down the second spot in the Western Conference, and overall, to assure home court in as many playoff series as possible, Jackson has not sensed his players taking aim on or talking about the Spurs.

"I'm not aware of it," he said.

With Duncan still out nursing an ankle injury and Ginobili doubtful after suffering a thigh contusion in the loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, every game is important not only to maintain the number one seed, but to get some positive momentum heading into the NBA playoffs.

The San Antonio Spurs (57-16) may have lost the game last night to the Memphis Grizzlies, 111-104, but the bigger concern is the health of the team.

Already shelved due to injury is Tim Duncan, now add Manu Ginobili to the list.

Ginobili suffered a left quadriceps contusion in last night's loss to Memphis and though is not serious, Ginobili cannot put his full weight on his leg and is in considerable pain. His status for tonight's game against Portland is in question.

That's two All-Stars for the Spurs dealing with injuries. Add the fact the Spurs' grip on the number one seed is now at four games with the Los Angeles Lakers currently on a seven game winning streak.

The playoffs are right around the corner, and this is the last thing the Spurs needed to deal with.

What do you think Spurs fans?

• Desertnews.com released their NBA rankings Sunday morning, they ranked the Los Angeles Lakers higher than the Spurs due to the Spurs injury woes:

2. Spurs: Not the same team without Tim Duncan, which was obvious in last two losses.

• The Detroit News discusses the Spurs "swoon"; in particular, because of the Duncan injury:

It will be interesting to see if the Spurs can hang onto the best record in the NBA with Tim Duncan (left ankle) out.

Sure, he isn't the Duncan of old, but he's still a pretty good defender, rebounder and has a solid court presence.

• If you own a 3D television, you may be able to watch the NBA Finals in 3D; reports The Denver Post:

Two Nuggets games, most recently Wednesday's win against the Spurs, have been in 3-D, and ESPN 3-D will air the NBA Finals in June.

• Greg Jaklewicz writes a fascinating article about Spurs play-by-play announcer Bill Schoening:

They talked once, when Bill was maybe 17 and Springsteen in his mid-20s. Kid, the Boss asked him, what do you want to do in life?

Broadcast sports, Bill told him.

Well, do it, Springsteen advised. Whatever dues you have to pay, pay up. It's not about the money but doing something you love.

• Boston's number one Celtics blog RedsArmy.com, keeps an eye on the Spurs and other contenders.