SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Ticker) -- Again without Tim Duncan, the defending champion San Antonio Spurs hope to avoid falling into a deep 0-2 hole in their best-of-five first-round Western Conference playoff series with the Phoenix Suns.

Duncan missed Game 1 on Saturday and watched helplessly from the bench as his teammates fell apart down the stretch in a 72-70 loss to the resilient Suns at the Alamodome.

Both teams set franchise lows for points in a playoff contest and they matched the lowest playoff total of the shot-clock era set by Detroit (79) and Atlanta (63) on May 12, 1999.

Duncan, the Spurs' leading scorer and rebounder and the Most Valuable Player of last season's NBA Finals, continues to be bothered by torn cartilage in his left knee. He missed the final four regular-season games with the injury.

	SEASON SERIES
	Jan. 7 Feb. 21	San Antonio 102, at Phoenix 83 Phoenix 98, at San Antonio 89

"He's just not ready to go," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Sunday after a team workout.

Samaki Walker filled in admirably for the star forward, collecting 13 points and 16 rebounds. But Duncan's fellow "Twin Tower", center David Robinson, was held to just 11 points on 3-of-12 shooting and did not score until the third quarter.

"They did a great job," Robinson said. "They double-teamed me. They did a nice job fronting me. We have to make adjustments. We need guys to step up. We need to find a better way to be effective."

With Duncan leading the way last year, San Antonio stormed to its first title, going 15-2 to match the second-best playoff mark in league history. One of those losses came at home in the first round but the Spurs followed it with a record 11 wins in a row until Saturday's setback.

"Yeah, we need Tim," Robinson admitted. "He brings a lot of size that we need. Everybody has to do their thing, though. We have to make our shots. Our offense was bad tonight."

A reserve his entire six-year career, Corie Blount was pressed into extended action as the Suns battle injury problems of their own. The 6-9 forward set an early tone with his defense and made three huge free throws in the final minute. He finished with five points, six rebounds, three blocks and a steal.

Penny Hardaway and Cliff Robinson scored 17 points apiece for Phoenix, which entered the series without starting point guard Jason Kidd (ankle) and forward Tom Gugliotta, who is out for the season with a knee injury.

"We are not done by a long shot," Phoenix forward Rodney Rogers said after Saturday's victory. "We are just getting started. We can't get the big head. We have to maintain our cool. We can't sit back and relax. We know they will come back strong on Tuesday."

Kidd, an All-Star, has been ruled out of at least the first two games and is not expected to play in this series.

The Suns are looking to avenge first-round eliminations at the hands of the Spurs in 1996 and 1998.

PHOENIX 10-game log	SAN ANTONIO 10-game log
Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 6 Apr. 9 Apr. 11 Apr. 12 Apr. 14 Apr. 16 Apr. 18 Apr. 19 @ Minnesota LA Lakers @ Utah @ Sacramento @ LA Clippers Vancouver LA Clippers Utah Houston @ Golden State W 87-86 L 83-84 L 85-105 W 102-97 W 95-88 W 122-116 W 112-88 L 82-96 L 98-107 W 99-88	Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 5 Apr. 8 Apr. 9 Apr. 11 Apr. 13 Apr. 15 Apr. 17 Apr. 19 @ Miami @ Orlando Sacramento @ LA Lakers @ Vancouver @ Sacramento Portland Utah Vancouver LA Lakers L 84-88 L 97-107 L 98-108 W 98-80 W 107-99 W 98-92 L 77-93 W 106-83 W 100-93 W 103-98