SAN ANTONIO (AP) Tim Duncan was put on the injured list by the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, two days after the two-time NBA MVP injured his leg in a loss to Dallas.

The team said Duncan had an irritation of the left patellofemoral joint, where the thigh bone meets the knee.

Duncan is averaging a team-leading 23.2 points and 13 rebounds in 54 games.

San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said his team would be ready for Saturday night's game against Denver.

``They played without him and Tony (Parker) both at the beginning of the season,'' Popovich said. ``If they play as well as they did then, I'll be thrilled.''

The Spurs are 1-3 without Duncan this season, and 7-11 in his seven-year career.

The team had already ruled Duncan out for the Nuggets game and said his condition would be re-evaluated next week.

Duncan limped to the bench midway through the third quarter of the Spurs' 115-91 loss to the Mavericks on Thursday night. San Antonio trailed by nine points at the time and went on to its most lopsided loss of the season. Duncan had 22 points and 17 rebounds in 25 minutes.

He had surgery on his left knee in May 2000 after suffering a torn lateral meniscus. Popovich said Duncan has been diligent about maintaining strength in that knee.

The Spurs did not immediately replace Duncan on the active roster. If the team activated another player, he would have to sit out at least five games.

For the past 21 years, the Portland Trail Blazers have been part of the NBA playoffs.

Thanks to their recent surge - and general manager John Nash's remaking of the roster - the Blazers have a chance to match the league record for postseason perennials.

The mark of 22 consecutive playoff appearances was set by the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers franchise from 1949-40 to 1970-71.

The Utah Jazz also are closing in on that mark, but their streak of 20 straight playoff appearances is in serious jeopardy. Portland, however, has moved within striking range of the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets.

``We have to put pressure on these teams. It's certainly a goal,'' Nash said Thursday night in a telephone interview.

Nash has been one of the league's busiest executives this season, pulling off three major trades.

Nash's first deal _ Bonzi Wells to Memphis for Wesley Person _ was widely panned. His next two trades _ Jeff McInnis to Cleveland for Darius Miles, and Rasheed Wallace and Person to Atlanta for Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Theo Ratliff and Dan Dickau _ drew more praise.

``I wish we would have had more time to balance off the roster,'' said Nash, whose deals left the Blazers with voids in backcourt depth and outside shooting. Nonetheless, the acquisitions addressed some of the Blazers' long-standing weaknesses.

``Theo automatically makes you a good defensive team, and we were one of the worst defensive teams in the league before his arrival. He's been a major factor,'' Nash said.

Ratliff tied a franchise record with nine blocks Tuesday night against Orlando.

Abdur-Rahim had been coming off the bench behind Miles before moving into the starting lineup and playing 43 minutes against the Magic.

``He brings an attitude of doing whatever it takes to win,'' Nash said. ``Some players of his stature would have groused about not starting, but his is a classy professional attitude.''

Nash said he had been discussing separate trades with the Hawks for Abdur-Rahim and Ratliff, reaching a breakthrough two weeks ago when he and Atlanta general manager Billy Knight combined the two deals.

Since taking over as general manager last summer, Nash has vowed to change the team culture by ridding the Blazers of players with negative attitudes. His deals have gone a long way toward reaching that goal, and an unexpected benefit could be reaching the postseason.

``Most people have responded positively. They like the excitement of Darius Miles, they like the idea we have defensive presence, and they like that Shareef is a steadying influence,'' Nash said.

The Blazers have already lost the season series to the Nuggets, costing them a tiebreaker if they finish with the same record as Denver. Portland was 1-1 against Houston entering Friday night's game against the Rockets, who began the weekend in seventh place in the West _ four games ahead of Portland.

___

HOME SWEET HOME:@ Forgive the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers if they seem a little exhausted. A month on the road, give or take a few days, will do that.

The Spurs didn't play their first home game of February until last Tuesday, getting kicked out of their arena while it played host to the rodeo.

San Antonio played seven consecutive road games and won six, mimicking its success of a year ago when a nine-game, rodeo-forced trip jump-started San Antonio's title run. (They went 8-1).

Beginning with Saturday night's game against Denver, the Spurs will play 12 of their next 17 at home as they try to make up ground on the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Midwest Division.

The Clippers, meanwhile, played just their second home game of the month Friday night when they hosted the Knicks. Los Angeles was forced out of the Staples Center by the Grammy Awards and the All-Star game.

The Clippers' 99-93 loss at New Orleans wrapped up a string of 13 games in 13 cities, and they played the role of the exhausted vagabond well. After not committing a turnover in the first half, the Clippers had 13 in the final 24 minutes.

``It's hard,'' coach Mike Dunleavy said. ``I just keep saying, `Hey, they're young and they'll learn.' We get so close, we get so many opportunities. I'm just hoping as I keep pounding it in and keep teaching that certain things stick better.''

___

PRO-READY PREPSTERS?: Dwight Howard of Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy and Sebastian Telfair of Lincoln H.S. in Brooklyn, N.Y. made the Eastern squad for the McDonald's All-America game, while teammates Joe Crawford and Malik Hairston of Detroit Renaissance H.S. made the West team.

Howard and Telfair are widely expected to enter this June's NBA draft, as are McDonald's All-Americans Josh Smith (Oak Hill Academy) and Shaun Livingston (Peoria Central H.S.).

Slam Magazine senior editor Ryan Jones was spotted at All-Star weekend wearing Livingston's Peoria jersey, perhaps signaling a trend toward throw-forward gear instead of throwback stuff.

___

HAITIAN HOMELAND:@ Philadelphia 76ers center Samuel Dalembert is worried about his grandmother, who was his primary caregiver in Haiti after Dalembert's parents left that country and emigrated to Canada.

Hypromene Charle, 72, lives in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, which could be attacked by rebels if President Jean-Bertrand Aristide does not resign.

``When I talk to her after a game, I feel better,'' Dalembert told reporters in Philadelphia. ``She tells me, `Oh, don't worry about it. Everything's fine.' But the main thing I'm thinking is, I know how crazy it is (in Haiti). When I was little, I saw things happen. I saw crazy stuff going on. I can imagine how it is right now.''

SAN ANTONIO (AP) Tim Duncan will miss at least one game for the San Antonio Spurs after injuring his left thigh during Thursday night's loss at Dallas.

A medical exam on Friday determined that Duncan has an irritation of the patellofemoral joint, the area where the thigh bone meets the kneecap, the team said in a brief written statement. He will not play Saturday night at home against Denver, and his condition will be re-evaluated next week.

``Obviously it's good news,'' Spurs spokesman Tom James said of the diagnosis. ``It's short-term, rather than long-term.''

Duncan hobbled to the bench midway through the third quarter of the Spurs' 115-91 loss to the Mavericks on Thursday night. At the time, San Antonio trailed by nine points before going on to its most lopsided loss of the season.

In 25 minutes, Duncan had 22 points and 17 rebounds. After the game his only comment was, ``I don't know what happened.''

The NBA's two-time MVP did not practice Friday and he did not speak to reporters.

Injuries to the patellofemural joint are common among athletes, and are frequently due to chronic wear and tear.

Teammate Malik Rose said he and other Spurs are prepared to step up if Duncan has to sit out a number of games to recuperate.

``Tim's one of the toughest guys in the league,'' said Rose, who got some of Duncan's minutes Thursday and finished with 12 points. ``He won't miss much time, but in the meantime we have to be a collective Band-Aid for him.''

Saturday's game against Denver is the start of a four-game homestand that ends with a rematch against Dallas on March 5.

The Spurs also released guard Ron Mercer on Friday and activated point guard Jason Hart from the injured list.

Mercer, a proven scorer, was acquired from Indiana in a three-team trade in the offseason, but was used sparingly. Popovich said the release would allow him to catch on with another team before March 1, the deadline for eligibility for the playoffs.

Mercer averaged 5.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in 39 games for the Spurs.

The San Antonio Spurs have placed guard Ron Mercer on waivers.

"In 39 games with the Spurs this season Mercer averaged 5.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per game."

DALLAS (AP) San Antonio's Tim Duncan could be sidelined for a while after leaving Thursday night's game against Dallas with what the team is calling a bruised left thigh.

Duncan appeared to be rubbing near the top of his knee, and the two-time league MVP told teammates he hurt the knee. The team, however, announced it was a thigh problem.

``He's got some sort of thigh contusion,'' coach Gregg Popovich said. ``He's probably going to miss a little bit of time.''

Asked how long Duncan might be out, Popovich said: ``I have no clue. I have no idea. You guys are thinking I'm a doctor, a psychic and all that stuff.''

Duncan will be examined further Friday in San Antonio. The team plays its next four games at home, starting Saturday night against Denver.

Duncan had 22 points and 17 rebounds in 25 minutes when he went to the bench with 7:15 left in the third quarter of a 115-91 loss to the Mavericks.

The Spurs were trailing 66-57 when Duncan went out. He spent the rest of the game on the bench and was able to stand during timeouts, moving awkwardly.

After the game, he spent about 20 minutes in the trainer's room, then limped out of the locker room and was taken to the team bus on a golf cart. His only comment was, ``I don't know what happened.''

Duncan and Dallas center Scott Williams collided in the first half. But it was while running in the second half that Duncan came up lame.

``He said, 'My knee,''' Spurs guard Hedo Turkoglu said. ``I hope it's not serious and he can come back. But we don't know how he feels. We'll see tomorrow.''

The reigning champion Spurs are now 38-20, four games behind Minnesota in the Midwest Division and just a half-game ahead of the Mavericks. Duncan is a big reason for their success as he came into this game fifth in the league in points per game, third in rebounds and blocks.

A long absence by Duncan could seriously hurt San Antonio's playoff seeding. The Spurs are 1-3 in games he's missed this season and 0-2 in games when he's left with an injury.

``Our team misses our superstar,'' Popovich said. ``He's more important to us than a lot of other teams' stars.''

Chances are good that the statue of Magic Johnson the Lakers unveiled last week will be the last of its kind for a while.

There are plenty of franchise-caliber stars around, but most of them won't prop up one team long enough to be cast in bronze.

You can picture a Shaquille O'Neal sculpture keeping Magic company outside the arena in Los Angeles someday. And with a few more championships, maybe the same can be said for Tim Duncan's likeness in San Antonio. But that's the beginning and end of the short list, and it doesn't figure to grow anytime soon.

The watchword in the NBA these days is ``impatience.''

The only big deal to slip in under the Thursday afternoon trading deadline sent Rasheed Wallace to the Pistons just a few days after Portland had shipped him to Atlanta. But it's a safe bet he wasn't the only malcontent with more talent than sense being shopped around when a handful of general managers pulled their fingers off the speed dials at 2:59 p.m. EST.

Already this season, more coaches have been fired and superstars swapped than at any time in recent memory.

Among theories being passed around the NBA's headquarters on Fifth Avenue, the most popular centers on a new wave of owners who are demanding quick fixes because their debt is every bit as hefty as their outsized egos.

Barely three weeks ago, the New Jersey Nets were sold for $300 million, twice what the previous owners paid for the team a half-dozen years earlier. Three days later, coach Byron Scott was on the unemployment line, where at least his misery had plenty of company.

Six other NBA coaches were already in place when Scott arrived, and Philadelphia's Randy Ayers showed up soon after. With the exception of Phoenix's Frank Johnson, all of them had been previously employed by teams in the Eastern Conference, which hardly seems coincidental and brings us to theory No. 2.

Ever since the Bulls vacated their throne after the 1997-98 season, the East has become the NBA's version of junior varsity hoops.

Los Angeles, with three championships, and San Antonio, with two, have won every season since and faced much tougher competition from their rivals in the West than from any of the four teams _ New York, Indiana, Philadelphia and New Jersey twice _ the East sent to the finals.

The lack of a dominant team on their side of the ledger has tempted many an Eastern Conference GM to think about turning over most of his roster (see Isiah Thomas' brief reign with the Knicks).

That kind of instability could have cost Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady their shots at a statue. But even that doesn't account for all the turmoil, which brings us to theory No. 3: the players themselves.

It's not difficult to look at the product on NBA floors today and see the consequences of bringing ever-younger players into the league. Dunks are up, fundamentals are down and just about everybody is restless.

Allen Iverson of the 76ers and Kobe Bryant of the Lakers are just two of the megastars in the NBA galaxy whose talent might have warranted bronzing someday. But both were rumored to be available until the deadline passed, and even now, neither is a lock to keep his current mailing address when the league swap meet reopens next offseason.

Bryant plans to retire in Los Angeles or catch the next train out of town, depending on whom he talks to and when. Iverson, too, has talked about exiting Philly more than once, which makes his latest threat noteworthy only because of its chutzpah. The ink on the pink slip the 76ers handed their last coach, Randy Ayers, was barely dry when The Answer started asking whether the club was prepared to deep-six his successor, Chris Ford.

Ford's sin was to bench his star at the start of Tuesday night's game in Denver because Iverson missed practice Monday, the day after he played in the All-Star game. Say what you will about the fairness of such a tactic, because Iverson said plenty.

``Going in there and having a meeting and being with some guy that I don't really know, telling me that I wasn't going to start and what I have to do for us to be successful ...

``I was just upset about being here eight years and somebody being here for one game and benching me.''

If nothing else, Iverson probably won't have to hear about it for long. The way things are going, either he or Ford _ or both _ will be headed out of town soon enough.

___

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke@ap.org

ATLANTA (AP) The premise seems preposterous: A player is rewarded with a $9 million contract offer by the team he just helped win an NBA title, yet he turns it down to sign for less money with one of the league's worst teams.

Amazingly, that is exactly what happened to Stephen Jackson.

He started 58 games last season and averaged 11.8 points as the San Antonio Spurs tied for the best record in the Western Conference and won their second championship in five years.

The team hoped to re-sign him with a new three-year deal.

For some reason _ and his explanation is somewhat vague _ Jackson turned down the offer.

``As soon as the season was over, I wanted to make another move,'' he said. ``I didn't want to be with San Antonio because I wanted to be somewhere where I could actually continue to get better and be more of a factor.

``I think San Antonio is a great place. I love the team, I love the people. But the best decision for me was to go somewhere else.''

That place turned out to be the woeful Atlanta Hawks, a team that hasn't made the playoffs in five seasons. Jackson got a one-year deal at a lower salary, and he didn't sign until after the start of training camp.

``I've been taking challenges my whole life, and this is just another one,'' he said. ``All of them are blessings.''

So far, ``challenge'' is just the right word.

Jackson endured more losses by December than he had all of last season. Atlanta stumbled to a 9-24 start, and his frustration finally boiled over after a 10-point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in December.

He had only four points in 23 minutes, and in the locker room after, he had a heated exchange with the coaching staff.

The specifics of the discussion weren't disclosed, but two days later, Jackson was suspended for one game for ``conduct detrimental to the team.''

``It was me being frustrated,'' Jackson said. ``But if you don't care about losing or get upset by losing, then you shouldn't be here. I was definitely (upset) about that.

``Coming from a championship team to all this losing, I thought the world was coming to an end. I was frustrated with it at first, and I wasn't being a professional and coming and playing every day. Now I am. I understand you're going to have ups and downs, but you've to play as hard as you can, regardless.''

His change in attitude is evident to his teammates.

``I think he'd be the first person to tell you he's grown up a lot this year,'' forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim said. ``It's just a growing process he had to go through, and now that he's passed it, he's helped us out a lot.''

More importantly, the Hawks are 6-6 since they ended a miserable 1-4 road trip to the West Coast in early January _ and Jackson is averaging about 18 points during the .500 run. That's certainly not a spectacular mark, but for this lowly franchise, where losing has become a way of life, it's a veritable hot streak.

``I think guys are taking pride in everything now,'' Jackson said. ``As a team and as an organization, we were not happy about how we played on that West Coast trip. We wanted to change that, and I think everybody dedicated themselves to changing it.''

Overall, Jackson is averaging 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists.

Since his suspension, Jackson still is quick with criticism when he feels his teammates aren't giving their all, but he has toned it down a little bit.

``He can fly off the handle one day and the next day be great,'' Atlanta coach Terry Stotts said. ``But he's a pleasure to be around. He's upbeat, he's great in the locker room, and guys like being around him.''

That much is easy to see. Before a recent game, when Jackson came strolling in the locker room wearing a Bo Jackson throwback jersey, he shook hands with everyone in the room _ and not just players.

Suddenly, a quiet room where players were studying video of that night's opponent became very lively.

``Everybody's happy,'' Jackson said. ``You can see the mood in the locker room. It's a joy to come to work. It's a whole different attitude around here, man. We know we can win now.''

Jackson still hasn't given up hopes of getting back to the playoffs _ yes, even with the Hawks _ even though the team is 16-34 heading into Friday night's game at Boston. In the watered down Eastern Conference, that's good enough for 12th, six games out of the final playoff spot.

And he won't allow himself to check out how his old team is doing. For the record, the Spurs are third in the West at 32-18, four games behind Sacramento in the chase for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

``No regrets,'' he said of his decision. ``A lot of people talk down about us now. But I think at the end of the season, a lot of people are going to be talking about the Atlanta Hawks and jumping on our bandwagon.''

Lawrence Frank is within three victories of matching the best start by a coach in NBA history.

The New Jersey Nets improved to 6-0 under his watch, surpassing 100 points before the end of the third quarter in a 120-99 home victory over Orlando on Friday night.

``You have to give him credit,'' veteran guard Lucious Harris said. ``He has turned us around. He gave us a new focus. You have to give most of the credit to him. He has focused on small details every day, no matter how good we play.''

The six wins to start a coaching career are three shy of the NBA record shared by Kurt Rambis in 1998-99 with the Lakers and Buddy Jeannette with the Baltimore Bullets in 1947.

As he has done after each win, the 33-year-old Frank gave all the credit to his players.

``This is a very unique group,'' Frank said. ``Not to demean anyone else in the NBA, I would find it hard to find in any other locker room the type of character we have and the oneness in the sense of having one agenda _ winning.''

In other games, San Antonio defeated Sacramento 102-94, Minnesota downed Cleveland 103-92, Houston edged Chicago 82-80, Atlanta topped Boston 100-96, Portland defeated Utah 87-73, Seattle edged Phoenix 107-105, Golden State beat Denver 96-87, New Orleans defeated Detroit 92-81, Memphis downed Milwaukee 105-85, Indiana beat Toronto 83-77, and Washington topped the Los Angeles Clippers 112-100.

Jason Kidd had 18 points, 13 assists, six rebounds and a 3-pointer that cracked the 100-point mark at the end of third quarter.

The victory was the Nets' seventh straight; their sixth in a row since Frank took over the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions from Byron Scott less than two weeks ago.

The Nets' 120 points, 41 assists, 59.8 shooting percentage and 64 points in the paint were all season highs. The assist total was a league high, one more than Dallas had against New Orleans on Nov. 11.

Kerry Kittles made six of his first seven shots and scored 12 of his 17 points in the first quarter. Kenyon Martin had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Richard Jefferson added 15 points, and Aaron Williams had a season-high 17 after Jason Collins was injured.

Spurs 102, Kings 94

At Sacramento, Calif., Tim Duncan had 28 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks as the Spurs continued to be one of few teams to give the Kings trouble at home, defeating them at Arco Arena for the third straight time.

The defeat snapped a five-game winning streak for the Kings as the NBA's highest-scoring team was bothered all game by the league's top defensive team.

Timberwolves 103, Cavaliers 92

At Minneapolis, Kevin Garnett had 35 points and 12 rebounds, and Latrell Sprewell added 24 points, seven assists and had a hand in LeBron James' face most of the night. Minnesota won its 14th straight at home and is an NBA-best 26-6 since Dec. 1.

Rockets 82, Bulls 80

At Houston, Jim Jackson hit a difficult 22-foot jumper at the buzzer. Yao Ming led Houston with 22 points, followed by Jackson with 14.

``Losing like that, on a shot like that, is tough to swallow,'' Chicago's Jamal Crawford said.

Hawks 100, Celtics 96

At Boston, the Atlanta Hawks won consecutive games for the first time this season, getting 23 points from Shareef Adbur-Rahim and 22 from Stephen Jackson. It was the Celtics' sixth straight loss and fifth in a row under interim coach John Carroll.

Trail Blazers 87, Jazz 73

At Salt Lake City, Zach Randolph had 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead the surging Trail Blazers to their sixth victory in their last seven road games.

SuperSonics 107, Suns 105

At Phoenix, Rashard Lewis scored 23 points, taking a pass from Luke Ridnour for a layup with 2 seconds remaining for the game-winner. Ray Allen injured his shoulder and is day-to-day.

Warriors 96, Nuggets 87

At Oakland, Calif., Speedy Claxton scored 17 of his career-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to snap Denver's three-game winning streak.

Hornets 92, Pistons 81

At New Orleans, Jamal Mashburn scored 12 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter to help the New Orleans Hornets snap a four-game losing streak.

Grizzlies 105, Bucks 85

At Memphis, Tenn., Pau Gasol had 27 points and 12 rebounds as the Grizzlies tied a franchise record for victories (28).

Pacers 83, Raptors 77

At Toronto, Ron Artest scored 27 points, Jermaine O'Neal added 20 and Al Harrington 19 in the Eastern Conference-leading Pacers' fourth win in five games.

Wizards 112, Clippers 110

At Washington, Gilbert Arenas scored 25 points, Jerry Stackhouse added 23 and the Wizards scored 25 of the game's first 28 points.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) For most of this month, Tim Duncan's favorite post-up spot will be occupied by stock pens. Rumbling John Deeres will be the closest thing to Tony Parker leading a fast break and clowns will handle timeouts, not coach Gregg Popovich.

It's rodeo time in San Antonio, which means that for the second straight year the Spurs are being kicked out of their home court for more than three weeks.

The reigning NBA champions don't play at home this month until the 24th. Only two of their 10 games in February are on their home court, and they're not even in a row. They'll be at the SBC Center so seldom that even when they are there it might feel like just another stop.

The voyage might not be such a bad thing, though.

A nine-game, rodeo-forced trip last February jump-started San Antonio's title run. After dropping the first game, the Spurs won the next eight, bonding on and off the court along the way.

``You have no outside distractions,'' said veteran Robert Horry, who joined the squad this season as Duncan's backup. ``All you do is go to movies, go to dinner with each other _ you become more of a family. You just talk and you get to learn each other.''

This year's trip got off to a good start with an 18-point win at Utah on Monday night. The Spurs play at Seattle on Thursday and Sacramento on Friday, then work their way back across the country with games at Houston, Toronto, Cleveland and Minnesota.

``To start with a little confidence builder and start building from here is great for us,'' Duncan said.

Half of San Antonio's roster has changed from last season. The latest addition is backup point guard Charlie Ward, who describes his knowledge of the team's system as ``cloudy.''

The Spurs seemed to have adjusted to their newcomers when they won 13 straight in December. But they've gone 10-8 since, blowing double-digit leads in four of those losses.

``Consistency doesn't just happen because you go do a drill,'' Popovich said. ``Consistency happens because players are familiar with each other, because they've been in the system for a while, because they've had enough practice to get used to everything.''

When this year's road trip started, San Antonio was 28-15. The Spurs went 32-7 the rest of the way, earning home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.

They were 32-18 going into the game against the SuperSonics. That includes 0-7 against the Lakers, Mavericks, Kings and Timberwolves, a big dropoff from their 11-5 mark against those same four last season.

The problem isn't just blending Rasho Nesterovic, Hedo Turkoglu, Ward and Horry in place of David Robinson, Stephen Jackson, Speedy Claxton and Steve Kerr. It's also that the five key returning players _ Duncan, Parker, Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen and Malik Rose _ are all shooting worse than last season.

As a whole, San Antonio is making 43.3 percent of its shots, down from 46.2 percent. On 3-pointers, the numbers are a bit lower, and the Spurs are a league-worst 66.3 percent on free throws.

``We have to forget about the record, forget about everything and just do our job,'' Ginobili said. ``If we play hard, aggressive defense, then things are going to get better.''

Defensively, the Spurs have held onto their league-best rating _ and even improved on it. They're allowing 83 points per game, seven less than last season. They are second in rebounding and third in blocked shots.

Problems come when the defense is porous early in games, creating a deficit the offense can't overcome.

``We're not good enough that we can afford that,'' Popovich said. ``When we do those things, we're maybe the seventh-, eighth-, ninth-best team in the league. But we take care of those things between now and playoff time, and maybe we can be somebody that contends.''

Warriors guard Nick Van Exel wants to play for one of the three Texas (Dallas, Houston, San Antonio) teams.

"All the teams are close to contenders, and just being close to home in Texas, I think that's what it all boils down to,'' Van Exel said before the Warriors' 107-93 loss in Dallas.

Van Exel has a home in Houston and his son lives in a Dallas suburb.

He can opt-out of the final two years of his contract this offseason but probably won't due to the large amount of money he would be giving up.

"Depends on where I'm at,'' he said when asked if he will opt out after the season. "That's a lot of money to give up. I gave up a lot of money already. ... I doubt if I'd do it again. But you never know, I'm pretty stubborn. Once I make up my mind, it's a done deal.''