Sunday's Spurs-Lakers showdown in Los Angeles should determine whether either team can catch the Hornets for the West's top seed.
The Lakers have clinched the Pacific Division and were a half-game behind New Orleans entering Saturday for the conference's top spot. The Spurs and the Houston Rockets both are a game behind New Orleans in the Southwest Division entering Saturday's play.
San Antonio likely will be missing one of its stars for Sunday's game and is the betting underdog at WagerWeb.com. Coach Gregg Popovich said Manu Ginobili is doubtful with a strained muscle in his groin. He said Ginobili, the Spurs' scoring leader, will be "game-to-game" the rest of the regular season.
"You want it to be fully healed," Popovich said, "because it's like a sprained thumb. Every time you touch it, it comes back and doesn't heal. The groin seems to be the same sort of situation. You've got to get it healed before you come back."
Meanwhile, shooting guard Brent Barry is still likely to be out. Barry, who suffered a torn muscle in his left calf on Jan. 21, went through a vigorous workout Thursday. He reported only minor pain and some continued swelling Friday, and Popovich said he is optimistic he will get Barry back for limited action before the regular season ends Wednesday.
San Antonio hurt its playoff position by losing two of three before Friday, averaging 71.7 points in that span. But the Spurs were able to bounce back against the conference-worst SuperSonics, as five players scored in double figures and they led by as many as 24 points. It was the first time the Spurs exceeded 80 points in four games.Sunday's game will be the first of two straight San Antonio will play on the road, where it has won four of its last five. The Spurs will visit Sacramento on Monday night before ending the regular season at home against Utah two days later.
Meanwhile, the Lakers' Kobe Bryant, a strong candidate to win his first MVP award, had 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to lead the Lakers over New Orleans on Friday night.
Los Angeles is ensured of finishing no lower than third in the West by virtue of its division title, meaning it will have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. If the Lakers and Hornets finish with the same record, Los Angeles wins the West and homecourt at least until the NBA Finals because of a better record against conference opponents.
Some bad injury news for the Lakers as well: Neither Andrew Bynum nor Trevor Ariza is ready to play. Bynum still is not allowed to participate in contact drills, and Ariza had CT scans done that showed the broken bone in his right foot is still not healed.
The Spurs lead the season series with L.A., 2-1, losing by five in the one game at Staples Center.
Betting trends: Spurs are 36-41-2 ATS overall. .. Spurs are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 Sunday games. . Spurs are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 road games. . Lakers are 45-33-1 ATS overall. . Lakers are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games overall. . Lakers are 0-7 ATS in their last 7 home games. . Under is 4-1 in teams' last five meetings.
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