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SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs were not going to believe Serge Ibaka was really injured until the Oklahoma City Thunder took the court in the opener of the Western Conference finals without their athletic big man. Their skepticism was unwarranted. Ibaka is indeed injured and Oklahoma City needs to find a way to replace his defensive presence against San Antonio. Tim Duncan had 27 points and the Spurs took advantage of Ibakas absence to score more than half their points in the paint, beating the Thunder 122-105 Monday night in the opener of the best-of-seven series. Tony Parker did not appear limited by a hamstring injury, adding 14 points and 12 assists in 36 minutes in San Antonios first victory over Oklahoma City this season. Parker and coach Gregg Popovich both said earlier they werent sure if the Thunder would actually be without Ibaka, who injured his left calf in Oklahoma Citys series clincher against the Los Angeles Clippers. "Contrary to what San Antonio was thinking, hes not coming back," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. Thats bad news for Oklahoma City entering Game 2 on Wednesday. San Antonio had 66 points in the paint and shot 58 per cent from the field. It was the highest shooting percentage allowed by the Thunder in the post-season since relocating from Seattle. The Thunder got their usual offensive output from All-Stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who scored 28 and 25 points, respectively. But Oklahoma Citys remaining starters, Nick Collison, Thabo Sefolosha and Kendrick Perkins, combined to score five points with 13 rebounds and one assist. Collison started in place of Ibaka and was 0 for 3 from the field with three rebounds and one blocked shot. Ibaka was averaging 12.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.23 blocks in 33.9 minutes in the post-season. "We play team defence, we dont just rely on Serge," Durant said. "He does a great job of blocking shots, but its all because of our team defence. Hes a big part of what we do. Hes a starter, had his best season this year, so of course were going to miss his presence, but we have guys that are going to step up and do it collectively." San Antonio planned to attack Oklahoma Citys interior whether Ibaka was playing or not, and found it much easier to do without the athletic 6-foot-10 forward. "We always want to try to penetrate," Parker said. "We always want our ball movement, thats how we play -- kick and pitch and stuff like that. You know, obviously its a little bit better with (Ibaka) not being in the paint, but were still going to try to penetrate and make stuff happen." The Spurs fed Duncan early and the veteran responded by scoring 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting in the opening quarter. Parker, who sustained a Grade 1 left hamstring strain in San Antonios series clincher against Portland, drove the paint and dished to Duncan early before looking for his own shot midway through the quarter. "Thats part of our game plan," Duncan said. "He knew that they werent going to let him shoot the ball like he did in the last series. They were going to try to take that away from him, so he knew he was going to have to be an assist man." Parker scored all but two of his points in the first half. Manu Ginobili took over in the second half, scoring all 18 of his points with a series of breakneck drives and 3-for-4 shooting on 3-pointers. "Just got to do a better job of closing the paint off," Westbrook said. "I thought we did a better job in the second half of just putting more pressure on them, making it tough for them to get inside the paint." After starting Collison and bringing in 7-foot post Steven Adams to spell him and Perkins, Oklahoma City continually altered its lineup in an attempt to derail San Antonios attack. At one point the Thunder had Westbrook and fellow point guards Reggie Jackson and Derek Fisher on the court with Durant playing the post defensively. Duncan responded by dropping in a running hook on Durant. "Were going to have to find lineups that work," Brooks said. "I have faith in all of our guys to step in and do the job, no matter who we put on the floor." With the exception of a pair of free throws by Fisher, Westbrook and Durant scored all of Oklahoma Citys points in a 23-22 third quarter. The Thunder rallied to take a 76-75 lead on Westbrooks 17-foot jumper with 5 minutes left in the third quarter for their first lead since the opening basket of the game. "I think we need more from everybody defensively," Brooks said. "We scored 105 points. ... We scored enough points to win a basketball game. We have to do a better job defensively." San Antonio improved to 7-1 at home in the playoffs, winning its past five games by an average of 20.6 points. The Spurs, however, remember what happened in the 2012 conference finals, when the Thunder won four straight to rally from an 0-2 deficit. "Theyre a talented team," Ginobili said. "Theyre going to watch video; theyre going to fix mistakes. Its going to be harder for sure. Its just one down." NOTES: Durant was assessed a technical foul 30 seconds into the fourth quarter after throwing his fists down in frustration after being assessed a foul. . Boris Diaw was poked in his lower right eyelid early in the game, but returned to shortly thereafter once it was determined there was no structural damage. . Play had to be stopped twice to clean up blood on Collison, who was battling Duncan and Splitter defensively. Drew Brees Jersey . Her return engagement begins tonight as TSN presents Day 1 coverage of the 2015 event from Melbourne. Watch Eugenie Bouchards opening round match at the Australian Open live tonight on TSN5 at 3am et/Midnight pt. 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The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal.BOSTON -- Marcus Stroman was so good against the Boston Red Sox last week that he went with the same plan Tuesday night. And the result was his second solid start in five days, leading the Toronto Blue Bays over the Red Sox 4-2. "To be honest, no, just execute pitches," he said when asked if he changed. "I didnt change my approach at all. I didnt feel like I needed to change. We attacked them exactly like we wanted to attack them and had success." Colby Rasmus hit a solo homer and Anthony Gose had a tiebreaking two-run double for the Blue Jays, who won for the ninth time in 11 games and improved to 9-3 against the Red Sox this season. "Hes on some kind of roll right now," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said of Stroman. "The kids good. He believes in himself. Hes got all the confidence in the world and hes got the stuff for it, too." Xander Bogaerts homered and Dustin Pedroia added an RBI double for Boston, which has dropped all five games in Fenway Park against Toronto. The Red Sox lost for the seventh time in eight games. "Obviously were not in the position that we want to be in," Pedroia said. "We havent played very well and our record shows that." Stroman (7-2) held Boston to one run and six hits in seven innings, striking out eight and walking two. He took a no-hitter into the seventh last Thursday before giving up Shane Victorinos leadoff single for his only hit allowed in seven innings. Casey Janssen got the final three outs for his 17th save despite giving up Bogaerts homer. Rubby De La Rosa (3-4) gave up three runs on nine hits in six innings. "I thought he gave us a solid effort," Boston manager John Farrell said. "We had probably three opportunities when we had multiple men on base and the timely hit was elusive." Goses two-out, two-run double snapped a 1-all tie and pushed the Blue Jays ahead in the fourth. Juan Francisco and Rasmus singled before advancing on Munenori Kawasakis saccrifice bunt.dddddddddddd. Rasmus homer into the centre field bleachers gave Toronto a 1-0 lead in the second, but Boston tied it on Pedroias RBI double. ON DECK Red Sox: Left-hander Jon Lester (10-7, 2.52 ERA) was scheduled to pitch Wednesday, but Farrell said after the game the club decided to go with right-hander Brandon Workman. Lesters name has been circulating in a number of trade rumours the past few days. "In light of all the uncertainty surrounding Jon Lester, its probably in everyones best interest that he does not make that start," Farrell said. Blue Jays: Mark Buehrle (10-7, 3.19 ERA) goes in the series finale on Wednesday, trying to snap his six-game losing streak since his last win on June 1. Hes 1-1 against the Red Sox this season, beating them in Fenway on May 22 when he went seven innings, allowing two runs. He gave up seven runs -- six earned -- in the loss at home on April 25. WORDS OF WISDOM Pitching coach Pete Walker visited Stroman before he faced David Ortiz with two runners on and two outs in the fifth. He got Ortiz to bounce to second. "He just said be careful," Stroman said. "Youve got to make your pitches. Luckily I made a good pitch on 2-0 and got him to roll over. That was a big point in the game." HELP FROM THE BOTTOM Gose drove in two runs from the nine-hole with the timely hit. "Thats the difference (from last year)," Gibbons said. "We couldnt get the run in with one out and he gets a hit there." TRAINERS ROOM Blue Jays: Infielder Brett Lawrie, on the disabled list since late June with a broken right index finger, began hitting off a tee late last week. On Monday, the team acquired Danny Valencia from Kansas City for a pair of players to give them depth at third while Lawrie works his way back. Gibbons said Valencia will face "a lot of lefties." Red Sox: First baseman Mike Napoli had what Farrell called a "down day" due to swelling on the ring finger of his left hand. ' ' '