San Antonio entered the season knowing Manu Ginobili would miss the first several weeks following offseason ankle surgery. The Spurs didn't know, however, that the absence of the NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year would have such a significant impact.

They lost their first three games for the first time since their 1973-74 season in the ABA before barely squeaking out a 129-125 double-overtime victory over Minnesota on Wednesday. Parker scored a career-high 55 points in that game to help get San Antonio back on track.

On Friday night, though, the Spurs suffered another blow when Parker sprained his ankle early in a 99-83 loss to Miami. An MRI taken Saturday confirmed the injury, and Parker was using crutches and wearing a protective boot while watching Sunday's practice. He's expected to miss about a month.

Tim Duncan, the only healthy member of the trio that has led the Spurs to three championships in the last six seasons, isn't sure what to make of San Antonio's alarming start. The Spurs are 1-4 for the first time since 1996-97 - the season before Duncan entered the league - and the injuries don't bode well for a quick turnaround.

"I don't know what it is," said Duncan, who had 22 points and 11 rebounds in Friday's defeat before sitting out most of the fourth quarter. "I don't know what to say."

Without Parker, the Spurs will rely more heavily on veteran backup Jacque Vaughn and rookie George Hill, the 26th overall pick from June's draft. Spurs president R.C. Buford has also said the team could seek help via free agency or a trade.

"You'll probably get to see George play a lot," Buford said. "We'll continue to evaluate not only our team, but the NBA market as we go along. Our guys have been encouraged with what George has done to date."

Buford declined to comment on Ginobili's condition, other than to say he's progressing as prescribed. He isn't expected to return before December.

San Antonio could have its hands full with a New York team that's impressed in its first six games under new coach Mike D'Antoni. The Knicks (4-2) notched their first convincing win of D'Antoni's tenure on Sunday, beating previously undefeated Utah 107-99 behind a season-high 32 points from Jamal Crawford.

"We play with energy, we can compete with a lot of teams. That's what we've been working on and every game continue to build on that," point guard Chris Duhon said. "It's early, but it's good to feel good about yourself and now we continue to build onto that."

D'Antoni, known for building an offensive powerhouse in Phoenix over the previous five seasons, was perhaps most impressed with his team's defense Friday. The Knicks held the Jazz to 15 points in the third quarter and outscored them 58-45 in the second half.

"Defense is a lot of heart," D'Antoni said. "We can put quickness on the floor, it's just a matter of just pushing through certain things and I thought we did a good job defensively."

D'Antoni hopes his club can carry some of that success into the AT&T Center as the Knicks try to snap a six-game losing streak against the Spurs, during which New York has scored between 92 and 96 points in each game.

New York is 1-9 overall against San Antonio since its last road win in the series, a 105-97 victory on March 18, 2003.