Tim Duncan

SAN ANTONIO - He might be getting older, but Spurs power forward Tim Duncan does not appear to have lost a step. For the second straight game, Duncan schooled the younger Clippers defenders in footwork and fundamentals, and helped lead his Spurs to a 2-0 series advantage with a win in San Antonio on Thursday night. The two-time NBA most valuable player scored 18 points on nine-for-14 shooting to help San Antonio cruise to a 105-88 victory. The win takes the 36-year-old yet another step closer to his fifth NBA title.

The San Antonio Spurs swept the Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals, but there was no love lost between Tim Duncan and Chris Paul. After the Spurs closed the series, Duncan walked down the hall to say hello to Paul and his 2-year-old son, Chris. Paul prompts little Chris to tell Duncan where he wants to go to college. "To my birthday," little Chris said.  Paul then helps his son out. "Wake Forest," he said.  After little Chris repeated his father's words, Duncan, a Wake Forest alumni, flashed a huge smile.

The San Antonio Spurs swept the Clippers in the Western Conference semifinals, but there was no love lost between Tim Duncan and Chris Paul. After the Spurs closed the series, Duncan walked down the hall to say hello to Paul and his 2-year-old son, Chris. Paul prompts little Chris to tell Duncan where he wants to go to college. "To my birthday," little Chris said.  Paul then helps his son out. "Wake Forest," he said.  After little Chris repeated his father's words, Duncan, a Wake Forest alumni, flashed a huge smile.

SAN ANTONIO - He might be getting older, but Spurs power forward Tim Duncan does not appear to have lost a step. For the second straight game, Duncan schooled the younger Clippers defenders in footwork and fundamentals, and helped lead his Spurs to a 2-0 series advantage with a win in San Antonio on Thursday night. The two-time NBA most valuable player scored 18 points on nine-for-14 shooting to help San Antonio cruise to a 105-88 victory. The win takes the 36-year-old yet another step closer to his fifth NBA title.

at San Antonio 94, New Jersey 91: Tim Duncan had 30 points and 15 rebounds and Michael Finley made a pivotal three-point shot for the Spurs with 22.6 seconds left. San Antonio has won four in a row heading into a trip that begins Sunday against the Lakers. at Indiana 107, Houston 102: The Rockets, already without Tracy McGrady and Ron Artest because of injuries, lost All-Star center Yao Ming in the first half because of a sore knee. Danny Granger scored 25 points for the Pacers.

Say this about Andrew Bynum: He was not afraid of Tim Duncan. But also say this about Bynum: He needed 23 shots to score 23 points, never a barometer of success in the NBA. The Lakers' center was up for a challenge but was outplayed by the San Antonio Spurs' perennial All-Star in the Spurs' 105-85 victory Tuesday at AT&T Center. Bynum made 11 of 23 shots (47.8%), a drop from his 55.6% accuracy coming into the game. Duncan had 25 points on 12-for-19 shooting (63.2%)

Reporting from San Antonio The two big men stood toe to toe going at each other, neither backing down, neither much of an offensive threat. But for the Lakers to have Pau Gasol stand his ground against Spurs All-Star forward Tim Duncan on Wednesday night proved to be a big difference in the Lakers' 92-83 victory. "It wasn't the greatest offensive night for either of us, obviously," Gasol said. "But I just tried to make an impact on the game defensively and rebounding."

San Antonio 108, at New Jersey 93: Tim Duncan had 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and the Spurs beat the Nets for the 13th straight time. Vince Carter scored 25 points for New Jersey, which lost its second straight game after winning a season-high four straight.

ORLANDO -- Vince Carter had 24 points and eight assists, and the Orlando Magic's defense smothered Tim Duncan to beat the San Antonio Spurs 110-84 on Wednesday night. Duncan had two points and was one for 10 from the field in the worst shooting-percentage game of his career, a big reason the Spurs lost for only the second time in their last 10 games. Duncan's previous low was a one for eight game against Minnesota on April 20, 2005, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. — Associated Press

If anything symbolized the disparity between Tim Duncan's impact on the court and off it, it was the image of him alone on a dais after the San Antonio Spurs' victory over the Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night. Gregg Popovich, Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant had already come and gone from the interview room, and the reporters had left to meet their deadlines. So Duncan sat in a room with no one around to ask questions, then finally left.

Some things to keep an eye on when the Lakers (36-22) visit the San Antonio Spurs (40-15) Wednesday (5:30 p.m.) at AT&T Center. 1. Can Andrew Bynum bounce back? For the Lakers' long-term future, it's a no-brainer that Kobe Bryant would miss his third consecutive game because of a sore left shin. He plays games if he's physically capable of doing so. In this case, stepping foot on the court would only worsen the injury. But in the short term, it could continue to hurt Bynum.

Lakers today AT SAN ANTONIO When : 12:30 p.m. Where: AT&T Center. On the air: TV: Channel 7; Radio: 710, 1330. Records: Lakers 44-19; Spurs 51-11. Record vs. Spurs (2010-11): 0-2. Update: The Lakers look at the Spurs as one of their true rivals in the NBA. The Lakers have lost both contests with the Spurs this season, by 15 in San Antonio and by one on a last-second tip-in. As good as the Lakers have been on defense during their six-game winning streak, they will face a Spurs team that runs an efficient offense.

It took the Lakers long enough — endless months, weeks and days blending into halves, quarters and minutes — but they finally arrived for the 2010-11 season. It was worth a double-take, if not a triple, the 48 minutes that signaled their interest in the rest of the season, a rout heard 'round the NBA, all opponents be forewarned. The Lakers didn't beat the San Antonio Spurs. They pummeled them, leading by as many as 32 points in a 99-83 victory Sunday in front of a stunningly quiet, and quickly emptying, AT&T Center.

Peace, it's wonderful There might not be a next season in the NBA or NFL, but all has been quiet on the labor front recently. NBA Commissioner David Stern has been as serene as Buddha. Meanwhile, the NFL's Roger Goodell , asked about union head DeMaurice Smith's declaration ? "We're at war" ? declared peace. "We're going to be to be committed to making sure we bring more football to more fans, I promise," Goodell told ESPN's Rachel Nichols . Of course, the commissioners might just want a worry-free Super Bowl and All-Star game.

SAN ANTONIO AT BOSTON Wednesday, 4:30 p.m. Even with the Celtics down three starters, this will be a challenge for the Spurs, the surprise contenders who have been as legitimate as Boston and Miami, not to mention the Lakers, who are choking in their dust. The Spurs have been going small with Tim Duncan kicking back and rookie Tiago Splitter being eased in. Not that it works as well in Boston where the Celtics, who weigh so much more, really throw their beef around.

Manchild in the Promised Land.... Already? If everyone says they saw this coming with Kevin Durant, at 21, the youngest NBA scoring champion ever, the truth is no one saw this coming. Not that it wasn't easy to tell he was special, but this is beyond special. "This is what, his third year?" says San Antonio General Manager R.C. Buford. "He just led the league in scoring. His team won 50 games. He's in the MVP conversation and will be for 10 years." Durant is not only in the conversation, it looks like it'll be a long-running dialogue.

AT SAN ANTONIO When: 6:30 PDT. Where: AT&T Center. On the air: TV: Channel 9, ESPN; Radio: 710; 1330. Records: Lakers 52-18, Spurs 42-27. Record vs. Spurs: 1-1. Update: The Lakers haven't been too bad in recent trips to San Antonio, winning three of their last seven, but they lost to the Spurs without Pau Gasol in January, 105-85. Last month, the Lakers beat the Spurs at Staples Center without Kobe Bryant, 101-89, thanks to a balanced offense: Gasol had 21 points, Ron Artest had 18 and Lamar Odom had 16 points.

DENVER — Tim Duncan had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs spoiled the return of Denver's Kenyon Martin with a 104-85 victory over the Nuggets on Saturday night. San Antonio (49-31) moved into seventh in the Western Conference, avoiding — at least for the moment — a first-round matchup with the top-seeded Lakers. Portland, a half-game back in eighth, plays the Lakers on Sunday. For the Nuggets, the loss was a blow to their hopes of securing the No. 2 seeding.

Shaq & Kobe & Timmy . . . as the tagline for "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" went, imagine the possibilities. It only seems as if Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'Neal, the Lakers, the Spurs and whoever Shaq is with have been duking it out with each other forever. It's actually just 11 years, since the spring of 1999 when the Spurs won the first of their four titles, after which the Lakers won the first, second and third of their four titles in the decade . . . with the grand showdown yet to come?