Spurs sputter while stuck in the muck

They don't make marquee matchups in the Western Conference the way they used to.

The Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs, winners of eight of the last 11 NBA titles, renewed the rivalry that defined the West on Monday night, just with a few things missing, like the old Spurs, the Lakers' franchise player and the Lakers' center.

The Lakers were without the injured Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum. The Spurs had all their old core players, the problem being they were all older.

Coach Gregg Popovich, whose team started the night No. 6 in the West, now paces his team, like the time he didn't put Tim Duncan in until the second quarter on the second night of a back-to-back, noting, "Not that much happens in the first quarter of NBA games."