Ginobili's 36 carries Spurs without Parker, Duncan

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SAN ANTONIO - Manu Ginobili scored 36 points without Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in the lineup and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Toronto Raptors 131-124 last night.

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the associated press

Philadelphia 76ers' Jason Smith, centre, collides with Phoenix Suns' Louis Amundson, left, and Grant Hill while going up for a shot in the first half yesterday in Philadelphia.

Ginobili hit four three-pointers in the fourth quarter and the Spurs somehow shook the rust off their sputtering offence with their two leading scorers sidelined.

Duncan and Parker sat out with ankle injuries and are listed as day-to-day. Richard Jefferson had 24 and George Hill added 22 for San Antonio.

Chris Bosh had 32 points and nine rebounds for Toronto, but his third 30-point game of the season wasn't enough after another soft defensive game for the Raptors.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points and Andrea Bargnani had 17 points for Toronto, which gave up more than 125 points for the third time this season. Though off to their best offensive start in team history, the Raptors are also among the five worst defensive teams in the NBA.

Former Raptor Matt Bonner added 18 points for the Spurs, who reawakened their offence after scoring 84 in a loss at Portland on Friday -- and lost their two biggest stars in the process.

Duncan hurt his left ankle against the Trail Blazers after playing a season-high 35 minutes and scoring 14 points. He finished the game, and coach Gregg Popovich said he was unsure when the injury occurred.

MRI tests revealed no structural damage. Parker was also hurt against Portland after rolling his ankle in the second quarter and did not return to that game.

Neither injuries are considered serious. Ironically, the Spurs have kept a close eyes on minutes around this season in hopes of lessening the wear-and-tear and keeping players healthy down the stretch.

Entering Monday's game, the Spurs were the only team in the league without a player averaging at least 30 minutes a game. Duncan is averaging 29 minutes and Parker 26.

The Raptors led by as many as 10 in the second quarter and shot better than 63 per cent in the first half. But Toronto -- which entered Monday as the third-highest scoring team in the NBA -- couldn't match the Spurs shot-for-shot in the fourth quarter.

Ginobili hit four of San Antonio's six three-pointers in the fourth, when Jefferson also scored 12 of his 24.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before the game he's not rattled by slow starts, particularly since the Spurs are still working in seven new players acquired in their off-season overhaul. Still, San Antonio avoided starting a second consecutive season at 2-4.

Marco Belinelli had 12 points for Toronto.

In other NBA action:

Suns 119 76ers 115

At Philadelphia, Jason Richardson scored 29 points, Victoria's Steve Nash added 21 points and tied his season-high with 20 assists and Phoenix beat the 76ers.

Jazz 95 Knicks 93

At New York, Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko each scored 23 points, and the Jazz won in New York for the first time in more than five years by beating the Knicks.