Mavs prepare for Spurs without Duncan

SAN ANTONIO – News flash from the Obvious Times: “Tim Duncan remains the center of the Spurs universe.”

“How long did it take you to come up with that one?” Mavericks coach Avery Johnson cracked Tuesday after being asked if the Spurs still revolve around the Big Fundamental.

In fairness to the reporter who offered it up, the question was posed with the bigger picture in mind. Duncan is San Antonio’s third leading scorer, falling behind Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, but his impact remains second to no one.

He may have been scoring 17.6 points and grabbing 8.9 rebounds, both are easily career lows, before hurting his right ankle and knee Sunday. Somehow, though, the numbers lie.

“Even if he’s not averaging the numbers,” Johnson explained, “it still feels like he’s getting 27 and 15 every night because he draws so much attention.”

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