Manu Ginobili, who sprained his left groin against the Mavericks, is expected to miss at least a week. He sat out along with Tony Parker, who has missed four of five games because of a nagging ankle sprain.

Parker, San Antonio's third-leading scorer, remains day-to-day. The All-Star point guard originally hurt the ankle Nov. 6, then re-aggravated the sprain Saturday in a loss to Oklahoma City.

George Hill, starting in place of Parker, had 18 points but on 7-of-17 shooting. Richard Jefferson added 16 points, and Roger Mason had 12.

After spending big dollars to bring in Jefferson and Antonio McDyess this summer while dumping half their roster, the Spurs' sputtering start isn't what the team had in mind. But it's also not the first time San Antonio has started slow: the Spurs began 5-5 last season, and still won the Southwest Division.

"If the playoffs started tomorrow, I think we'd be in trouble," Duncan said. "But we've got a long way to go."

NOTES: Jazz G Ronnie Price will not need surgery on his injured left toe, the team announced before the game. Price has undergone two MRIs since spraining his big toe Nov. 9 in a win against the Knicks. ... Utah C Mehmet Okur didn't make the trip, staying home because of flulike symptoms.