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Ginoboli Done For The Year...

The San Antonio Spur' Big Three is down to two.

Manu Ginoboli will miss the rest of the season and playoffs for the Spurs after tests Monday revealed that his troubled right ankle has gotten worse.

It was the news San Antonio dreaded after Ginobili sat out the fourth quarter in Sunday's blowout loss at Cleveland, and leaves the Spurs limping toward the postseason in search of a fifth NBA title since 1999.

Ginobili missed 19 games after the All-Star break to heal a stress reaction in his right distal fibula. He returned March 25, but tests showed the stubborn injury is now a fracture.

The Spurs said Ginobili wasn't expected to need surgery. But either way, Ginobili is out and the Spurs are hobbling with less than two weeks before the playoffs begin.

Tim Duncan is bothered by sore knees and has been sitting out the second game in back-to-backs down the stretch this season. Tony Parker carried the Spurs after Ginobili first went out in February and Duncan's knees began aching, and the weight figures to fall on the 26-year-old's shoulders again.

The Spurs lead the Southwest Division by a half-game but have fallen two games behind Denver for the No. 2 seed in the West, a spot San Antonio had held for most of the season. Their final six games begin Tuesday at Oklahoma City.

Ginobili scored four points before his ankle stiffened toward the end of Sunday's 101-81 loss to the Cavaliers. A CT scan and MRI on Monday showed that he had a stress fracture in the ankle and an increased narrow edema.

Ginobili also missed the start of this season while recovering from surgery to his left ankle. He's played in 44 games this season. He averaged 15.5 points and had recently been installed in the starting lineup -- a different role for the NBA's reigning sixth man of the year.

We've learned to never count the Spurs out, but without Ginoboli, I don't see them getting it done. There's just too much talent in the West. That being said, Tony Parker's gone for 35+ on numerous occasions in Ginboli's absence, including 55 early in the season. 

Via: ESPN & nicekicks