Duncan, Kidd Test Injuries

OK, which of you superstars throws away his crutches first?

With the defending champion San Antonio Spurs clinging to life by a finger that the upstart Phoenix Suns would like to step on, the stars of both teams returned to practice for the first time in this series Monday, raising the possibility one or both could play in tonight’s Game 4.

Of course, Sun Coach Scott Skiles said it’s unlikely Jason Kidd will play and Spur Coach Gregg Popovich said he would stick to his pre-series prediction that Tim Duncan wouldn’t play.

Nevertheless, both players reportedly did all right in practice, so now it’s strictly wait and see.

Kidd broke a bone in his left ankle in Sacramento on March 22 and has been out since. Without Kidd and previously injured Tom Gugliotta and Rex Chapman, the Suns finished 9-6, but have a 2-1 lead in this series.

Duncan suffered a small cartilage tear in his left knee, coincidentally also in Sacramento, April 11. The Spurs finished 3-1 without him, but lost the opener of this series at home--while scoring 70 points--and then lost Game 3 here Saturday, after blowing a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

The Suns practiced only half-court Monday. Skiles said Kidd “went through the stuff everybody did for a period of time, about half an hour. Then went up to do his rehab. He looked good. . . .

“We’re in no hurry. We’re not going to rush him.

“I’d say it’s unlikely he’ll play.”

Kidd left without talking to reporters. Duncan, meanwhile, did talk but it was before practice, and all he knew was that he was finally feeling strong enough to test his knee.

“I want to go out there,” he said. “I want to feel good about it. Of course, I want to be back on the court. I want to show that I can be able to be back on the court. As I’ve said before, I don’t want to go back out there and be playing injured or limping around. It’s not going to help me or anybody else if I do that. . . .

“I just need to not think about it and not go out there tentative at all. Just go play and if it talks to me and tells me I can’t do something, then I’ve got to back off on that. But until it does, I’ve got to go out and test it.”

Popovich said Duncan “has been officially cleared for contact and he had his first taste of it [Sunday]. He went a little bit one-on-one with a couple of the guys out on the court for a few minutes. . . .

“It’s understandably a real tentative situation for him. He doesn’t plant [his left foot] real well yet and really explode off of it but time will tell. Part of that is probably a little of a fear. . . .

“Part of it is probably a strength factor. This is the next step. We’ll see how he progresses.”

NBA players and coaches are required to talk to the press once a day, but the Spurs’ availability was before their practice.

Popovich demurred when asked if he would issue an update afterward, or as he put it, “no . . . way.”

Not that he would have announced Duncan’s availability in any case--he’d prefer to save it as a surprise for the Suns--or that anyone would have believed him if he had said Duncan wouldn’t play. This is playoff time, when you have to see it to believe it.