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. Dennis Rodman Jersey . Helwani said that Weidman has been dealing with recurring swelling and pain in his knees related to torn meniscus he suffered as a teenager and the problems came to a head last week when he suffered prolonged swelling and pain in his left knee, resulting in the decision to undergo an arthroscopic scope procedure to clean up the tear in both knees. Cheap Pistons Jerseys Authentic . LOUIS - Two-thirds of the St. http://www.cheappistonsjerseys.com/?tag=...-mcgrady-jersey. - The Seattle Sounders busy off-season continues with the team acquiring defender Chad Marshall from the Columbus Crew in exchange for a 2015 third-round pick and allocation money. Ish Smith Jersey .C. -- Al Jefferson said he feels like hes playing the best basketball of his 10-year NBA career. Jerry Stackhouse Jersey . If Vettel wins at Suzuka on Sunday, and his nearest rival Fernando Alonso finishes worse than eighth, the German driver will join his compatriot Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio as the only men to win four consecutive titles.SEATTLE – As Edwin Encarnacion was playing in his first minor league rehabilitation game – hitting a grand slam for Triple-A Buffalo in the process – Adam Lind was holding court in the Blue Jays dugout at Safeco Field, ready to return from a fractured right foot which had kept him out of the lineup for almost five weeks. “Im excited to get back and I just want to make this transition as smooth as possible. Theyve been doing fine without me,” said Lind. “Hopefully, I can just add a little bit here and there and contribute to a couple of more wins.” Linds middle-of-the-order, left-handed bat is welcomed against right-handed starting pitching. Make no mistake, hes a platoon player, but that .369/.434/.570 slash line against righties is a sight for sore eyes and Linds big league credentials exceed those of any other player whos been involved in the platoons necessitated by his and Encarnacions absences. Lind fouled a ball off the top of his right foot on June 14 in Baltimore. He stayed off the disabled list in the immediate, but was out of the starting line-up for a week, making pinch-hit appearances three times from June 19-21. He continued to play until the July 7 game in Anaheim, when the lingering pain in his foot became too much to bear. An MRI revealed the fracture, Lind was placed on the disabled list and his return initially was estimated at two to three weeks. “I never thought I had a setback,” said Lind. “Id just test it and it wasnt ready, test it and it wasnt ready and then finally, about last Tuesday, it was tolerable and its been about a week, so Im pretty good to go.” Lind made one appearance in a rehab game, which happened last Thursday for the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. He doubled twice in his two at-bats, but his back, which has given Lind problems over the years, tightened up. “It was a little worrying because it was in a different spot,” said Lind. “When I finished playing a month ago, my lower back was hurting because I was limping for three weeks. It wasnt jjust my foot that it hurt, it was my lower back hurt, as well.dddddddddddd My upper leg hurt. Then, I rested for a couple of weeks and it went away and I started playing again and it kind of came back, so I had to do some other treatments and that loosened it up and I think it just flared up another part of the back. Now Im good to go.” Lind watched Sundays 19-inning marathon win over Detroit from the comfort of his Florida home. Well, for the most part. He was flipping between the ballgame and the final round of the PGA Championship. He flew Tampa to Chicago to Seattle on Monday and rejoined his teammates at Safeco Field on Tuesday. WAGNER TO UNDERGO TOMMY JOHN SURGERY Reliever Neil Wagners season is over and hell be lost for most of 2015. Hes scheduled to undergo Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery on August 19. Its hard to be patient at the moment. “I think once I get through the surgery Ill be fine,” Wagner told TSN.ca in a text message on Tuesday. “It is just the waiting that is tough.” Wagners had a trying season. He didnt break camp with the Blue Jays, but was recalled in time for the April 9 game versus Houston, his first day of eligibility after the season-starting 10-day option window closed. He made nine appearances in April before being optioned back to Buffalo, at which point he began to experience tightness in his right forearm. There was concern at that time about his elbow, but Wagner forged ahead and returned for one more appearance with the Blue Jays, an ugly six-run, 1 1/3-inning performance in a May 14 blowout loss to Cleveland. He was sent back to Buffalo and has hardly pitched since, unable to overcome the elbow and forearm problems that have resulted in his impending surgery. Wagner will be 31 next January 1. The timing is tough. Hes no longer a young pitcher and has spent most of his car