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SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs were not going to believe Serge Ibaka was really injured until the Oklahoma City Thunder took the court in the opener of the Western Conference finals without their athletic big man. Their skepticism was unwarranted. Ibaka is indeed injured and Oklahoma City needs to find a way to replace his defensive presence against San Antonio. Tim Duncan had 27 points and the Spurs took advantage of Ibakas absence to score more than half their points in the paint, beating the Thunder 122-105 Monday night in the opener of the best-of-seven series. Tony Parker did not appear limited by a hamstring injury, adding 14 points and 12 assists in 36 minutes in San Antonios first victory over Oklahoma City this season. Parker and coach Gregg Popovich both said earlier they werent sure if the Thunder would actually be without Ibaka, who injured his left calf in Oklahoma Citys series clincher against the Los Angeles Clippers. "Contrary to what San Antonio was thinking, hes not coming back," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. Thats bad news for Oklahoma City entering Game 2 on Wednesday. San Antonio had 66 points in the paint and shot 58 per cent from the field. It was the highest shooting percentage allowed by the Thunder in the post-season since relocating from Seattle. The Thunder got their usual offensive output from All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who scored 28 and 25 points, respectively. But Oklahoma Citys remaining starters, Nick Collison, Thabo Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins, combined to score five points with 13 rebounds and one assist. Collison started in place of Ibaka and was 0 for 3 from the field with three rebounds and one blocked shot. Ibaka was averaging 12.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.23 blocks in 33.9 minutes in the post-season. "We play team defence, we dont just rely on Serge," Durant said. "He does a great job of blocking shots, but its all because of our team defence. Hes a big part of what we do. Hes a starter, had his best season this year, so of course were going to miss his presence, but we have guys that are going to step up and do it collectively." San Antonio planned to attack Oklahoma Citys interior whether Ibaka was playing or not, and found it much easier to do without the athletic 6-foot-10 forward. "We always want to try to penetrate," Parker said. "We always want our ball movement, thats how we play -- kick and pitch and stuff like that. You know, obviously its a little bit better with (Ibaka) not being in the paint, but were still going to try to penetrate and make stuff happen." The Spurs fed Duncan early and the veteran responded by scoring 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the opening quarter. Parker, who sustained a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in San Antonios series clincher against Portland, drove the paint and dished to Duncan early before looking for his own shot midway through the quarter. "Thats part of our game plan," Duncan said. "He knew that they werent going to let him shoot the ball like he did in the last series. They were going to try to take that away from him, so he knew he was going to have to be an assist man." Parker scored all but two of his points in the first half. Manu Ginobili took over in the second half, scoring all 18 of his points with a series of breakneck drives and 3-for-4 shooting on 3-pointers. "Just got to do a better job of closing the paint off," Westbrook said. "I thought we did a better job in the second half of just putting more pressure on them, making it tough for them to get inside the paint." After starting Collison and bringing in 7-foot post Steven Adams to spell him and Perkins, Oklahoma City continually altered its lineup in an attempt to derail San Antonios attack. At one point the Thunder had Westbrook and fellow point guards Reggie Jackson and Derek Fisher on the court with Durant playing the post defensively. Duncan responded by dropping in a running hook on Durant. "Were going to have to find lineups that work," Brooks said. "I have faith in all of our guys to step in and do the job, no matter who we put on the floor." With the exception of a pair of free throws by Fisher, Westbrook and Durant scored all of Oklahoma Citys points in a 23-22 third quarter. The Thunder rallied to take a 76-75 lead on Westbrooks 17-foot jumper with 5 minutes left in the third quarter for their first lead since the opening basket of the game. "I think we need more from everybody defensively," Brooks said. "We scored 105 points. ... We scored enough points to win a basketball game. We have to do a better job defensively." San Antonio improved to 7-1 at home in the playoffs, winning its past five games by an average of 20.6 points. The Spurs, however, remember what happened in the 2012 conference finals, when the Thunder won four straight to rally from an 0-2 deficit. "Theyre a talented team," Ginobili said. "Theyre going to watch video; theyre going to fix mistakes. Its going to be harder for sure. Its just one down." NOTES: Durant was assessed a technical foul 30 seconds into the fourth quarter after throwing his fists down in frustration after being assessed a foul. . Boris Diaw was poked in his lower right eyelid early in the game, but returned to shortly thereafter once it was determined there was no structural damage. . Play had to be stopped twice to clean up blood on Collison, who was battling Duncan and Splitter defensively. Buy Adidas Superstar Online . Blatter, a 75-year-old Swiss executive who has been in office since 1998, was handed a final four-year term as head of footballs governing body in a vote at FIFAs congress. He won 186 votes out of 203 ballots. Cheap Adidas Superstar China .com) - The Vancouver Canucks recovered from a fluke goal early last time out to knock off one of the top teams in the league. http://www.cheapadidassuperstar.us/ . Brooks replaces right-hander Yordano Ventura, who left his last outing with a sore elbow. Ventura is expected to miss one start. Brooks has made one relief appearance for the Royals this season, allowing six runs in two innings in a May 3 loss to Detroit. Cheap Adidas Superstar Wholesale . On July 27 cyclings best-known race will host "La Course by Le Tour de France" -- a one-day womens competition staged hours before Tour riders race on the same circuit to finish the three-week event on Paris Champs-Elysees. Cheap Adidas Superstar Online .com) - The Carolina Hurricanes hope to remain perfect at home in January on Friday night as they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to PNC Arena.Each week, TSN.ca takes a look at the top storylines in the NFL and gives you all you need to know heading into Sundays action. All in! Chargers win and get in, Chiefs need some help This isn’t exactly a win-and-get-in game because Kansas City will need some extra help, but it’s a very important one for both teams. The Chargers caught a bit of a break when the Chiefs announced QB Alex Smith will miss the game with a lacerated spleen. With Chase Daniel now behind centre, expect Kansas City to rely even more on Jamaal Charles and their run game, which could be a winning strategy against San Diego, who has one of the worst run defences in the league. With home field advantage, the Chiefs may be able to pull this one out, but even then will be forced to scoreboard watch, hoping for Baltimore and Houston losses to get into the playoffs. Win and get in/Lose and you’re fired Flexed to the late afternoon slot are the legit playoff deciders, although this first one probably shouldn’t be. Carolina vs Atlanta acts as both a win-and-get-in game and a lose-and-you’re fired match. The latter may be a bit dramatic but there’s at least the possibility that Mike Smith and Ron Rivera are coaching for both a playoff spot – and division championship no less – and their jobs. The winner of Sunday’s AFC South tilt will finish with seven wins and likely get crushed at home in the first round of the playoffs. The consolation prize for the loser is a potential Top 10 pick in this year’s draft. Fight for the North A division battle I can get a little more into! The two heavyweights in the AFFC North this year – Green Bay, of course, and Detroit, kind of surprisingly – will take their battle for the division title down to the last Sunday of the regular season.dddddddddddd The Packers have the added incentive of a first-round bye attached to a win while the Lions could still achieve that as well but would need a bunch of other things to happen as well. There’s a lot of Super Bowl talk surrounding the Packers this time of year, not so much with the Lions. Even Lions fans don’t seem too hopeful heading into Sunday; the smart money seems to be on Green Bay. Fight for the North 2 About an hour after the NFC North is decided, the AFC North will be up for grabs in the last Sunday Nighter of the regular season. Cincinnati has the edge heading into the game by virtue of their tie earlier in the season, but with Denver likely to beat Oakland earlier in the day, this game isn’t for much other than home field in the first round of the playoffs. Harbaugh’s goodbye? Harbaugh’s goodbye to San Francisco? Definitely. But it may not be his goodbye to the NFL. Despite what will surely be – or has already been – a very generous offer from Michigan for Harbaugh to return the NCAA, the four-year head coach is expected to have plenty of suitors from the pro game as well. He may not even escape the Bay Area with the Oakland Raiders expected to come calling as well. It will be interesting to see how the 49ers respond knowing their coach is screaming at them for the last time. They should still be able to send him out a winner against Logan Thomas, errr Ryan Lindley. ' ' '