Report: Duncan Out For Game 3

According to a broadcast report, San Antonio's Tim Duncan will sit out Game 3 of the Spurs playoff series with the Phoenix Suns due to a lingering knee problem.

ESPN reported on Duncan's status Saturday.

As Duncan inched closer to returning to the court, there had been talk that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is considering using Duncan in a sixth man role.

"I can see us bringing him back in a substitute role and giving him limited minutes," Popovich said before his team went through a light workout Friday, "because we've playing a certain way now for a while while he's been gone.

"Maybe it would be wiser to bring him into that flow rather than just start him out in it and he's not really comfortable with what we're doing yet. That's a heck of a sixth man, that's for sure."

With the best-of-five series between San Antonio and the Phoenix Suns tied 1-1, the defending NBA champion Spurs must win Game 3 Saturday or find themselves on the brink of first-round elimination.

The MVP in last year's finals missed the final four games of the regular season and both playoff games in San Antonio with torn cartilage in his left knee. After a limited workout Thursday, he said there was no swelling - an encouraging sign - but he refused to speculate on the possibility of playing Saturday.

The decision was a collective one involving doctors, coaches and Duncan.

"I don't want to go out there and injure myself more," Duncan said, "and I don't want to go out there and hinder the team any not being 100 percent or close to that."

Teammate David Robinson said Duncan, who becomes a free agent after this season, must take a cautious approach.

"I just don't want him to come out there and not be healthy," Robinson said. "With your knee, that's not something that you play with. His career is going to be long-term with a lot of success. That's what I'm really concerned about. I want him back when he can come in and give me 25 or 30 minutes and do the things that he does. But I don't want him out there limping and not being able to score and do some of the thing that he does best."

The Spurs' Avery Johnson said he doesn't think Duncan will play in the series at all.

"I don't anticipate Tim playing for another 10 days," Johnson said. "Hopefully we'll still be alive in 10 days. But right now, my thinking isn't on him, it's on Kevin Johnson and Penny Hardaway and the Phoenix Suns."

The Suns' Rodney Rogers, who missed Thursday's practice with back spasms, was stiff and sore Friday but said he would play Saturday.

Hardaway is nursing a sore left knee but will play. Hardaway's presence has been critical for the depleted Suns, who are without Tom Gugliotta and Jason Kidd because of injuries.

Skiles said he'd like to have Hardaway bring the ball downcourt a few more times to try to breathe some life into the Suns' sputtering offense.

"But I mean, how much can Penny do for us?" Skiles said. "We're throwing him the ball every time down the court. He's playing good defense. He's active out there. He's scoring. Now we're going to ask him to bring the ball down the court?

"He's playing 40-some minutes a game. We're asking him to do so much, I'm concerned about him being there at the end of the game to make plays when we need them."

The Spurs' Jerome Kersey, out for the playoffs with a dislocated right foot, underwent surgery on Friday to have two screws inserted. His loss could mean some matchup advantages for the Suns, especially if Duncan doesn't play.

While all the attention has been on Duncan, Kidd quietly has been working out with the team trainer as he comes back from a broken ankle. On Friday, Kidd went through his most extensive workout yet and said he is feeling great. He's aiming for a return in the second round, if the Suns make it that far.

But he wouldn't absolutely rule out coming back for Game 4 Tuesday night.

"Tuesday is a long shot," Kidd said. "I just don't want to have any pain. Tomorrow morning will be key because this is as much as I've done. It's been six days that I've been running on it, that's a good sign. I haven't had any pain."

©2000 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed