The San Antonio Spurs took down the Houston Rockets Wednesday night with the help of center Tim Duncan’s 25 points, 16 of which he scored in the third quarter. He had seven rebounds, too.

Even with that performance, Duncan may be sitting out Thursday night’s game against the New Orleans Hornets. Coach Gregg Popovich has said that he plans to rest the 35-year-old 13-time All-Star throughout the season and this may be the chance he’s been waiting for, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

Duncan, though, didn’t want to hear about it after Wednesday’s win. “I don’t think about that,” he said, according to the paper. “I’m not worried about that. I hope it doesn’t come to the point where I need to take a day off. I feel pretty good right now and I’m not resting or saving for any other game. I’m just going to play whatever game is in front of me.”

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The New Orleans Hornets don’t want Chris Kaman around, but plenty of other teams do. After playing in 17 games for the Hornets, Kaman has missed the last five as the team tries to find a way to trade him.

The New Orleans Times Picayune reports that rumored destinations for him include the Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors, and San Antonio Spurs.

The Rockets are reportedly at the top of the heap with an offer that includes young players and draft picks, SI.com reports. The two young players that are being discussed, the paper notes, are center Hasheem Thabeet and power forward Jordan Hill, both of whom were in the top 10 picks of the 2009 draft.

Meanwhile, the Times Picayune reports that a Houston television station repotted Wednesday night that it was doubtful the Rockets would get a deal done for Kaman. The paper is hearing that the Indiana Pacers actually are leading the charge for Kaman’s services as it wants to find a backup for Roy Hibbert.

The 29-year-old seven-footer, who has a $14 million expiring contract, averaged 9.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game in his 17 appearances this season.

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The New York Knicks are more than a quarter of the way through their 66-game schedule and they’ve had to suffer through their 8-13 record without the help of point guard Baron Davis, who had back surgery in December but was expected to be in the lineup by now.

The word from Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni now is that Davis won’t be in the lineup till next week, the New York Post reports. “We all wanted things earlier,” D’Antoni said, according to the Post. “But we want when he comes back he could stay back and not risk the in-and-out and all that stuff.”

Davis sat out Monday’s practice because he was “too sore,” the paper reports, but he is expected to be practicing again Wednesday. “He hasn’t looked strong in scrimmages,” the paper reports and “D’Antoni said (Davis) hasn’t had ‘enough pop’” and needs “recovery time from scrimmages.”

The 32-year-old Davis, a two-time All-Star, split last season between the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers, averaging 13.1 points, 6.7 assists, and 2.7 rebounds per game.

The Knicks, expected to be a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference this season, are currently a game and a half out of playoff contention.

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Richard Hamilton has a deep thigh bruise and some “lingering left groin issues” that will continue to keep him out of the lineup for the Chicago Bulls, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The team plans to hold Hamilton out till he’s fully healthy since he missed eight games after playing on Jan. 4. He played Sunday against the Miami Heat and then skipped Monday’s game against the Washington Wizards.

“It’s frustrating, but I have to get healthy,” Hamilton said, according to the Trib.

The paper points out that forward Luol Deng, who has a torn ligament in his left wrist, may return to action before Hamilton since doctors are telling him he can’t make the injury worse and it is now simply about managing the pain.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said Deng will return soon, possibly as early as Thursday against the New York Knicks.

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The San Antonio Spurs took a big hit on Jan. 2 when Manu Ginobili broke his left hand. The San Antonio Express-News reports that Ginobili has had his post-surgery splint removed and he’s allowed to do some basketball activities with his other hand.

“He’s shooting mid-range shots,” coach Gregg Popovich said Monday, according to the paper. “He’ll be cleared to go one-on-one in a week or so.”

The 13-9 team has gone 10-7 without the 34-year-old native of Argentina and he’s expected to return “at some point during the Spurs’ nine-game road trip next month,” according to the Express-News.

In the five games he’s played this season, Ginobili has averaged 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and three assists per game.

The other injured Spurs guard, T.J. Ford, who tore his left hamstring on Jan. 10, won’t be back till after Ginobili, the paper reports.

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It can’t be easy to be a fan of the Washington Wizards. The team finished dead last in the Southeast Division for the last three seasons. This year, the team took a while to win its first game and is now 4-17 on the season. Only the dismal play of the 3-18 Charlotte Bobcats are keeping the Wizards out of last place in the division at this point.

Now word comes from the Washington Post that the team has lost the services of 6-11 Andray Blatche for the next three to five weeks due to a strained calf muscle in his left leg.

The 25-year-old Blatche, who was drafted in the second round of the 2005 draft right out of high school, is averaging 10.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. His NBA career had a slight bump at its start when he missed his first training camp with the Wizards due to being shot during a carjacking.

“There is a lot of bleeding in there, which leads to inflammation,” said Wizards interim coach Randy Wittman Monday, the Washington Post reports.

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The now 7-13 Phoenix Suns got crushed by the Dallas Mavericks 122-99 on Monday night, partially due to hitting the floor without Steve Nash, who took “a knee to his left thigh on the final play of Saturday night’s win,” according to the Arizona Republic.

It is unclear if Nash, who is only seven assists away from breaking Kevin Johnson’s franchise record, will be ready to go for Wednesday’s game against the New Orleans Hornets.

“It’s very, very sore and a sharp pain, but it’s also very stiff,” Nash told the paper.

The 37-year-old seven-time All-Star, who has been league MVP twice, is averaging 14.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 9.9 assists per game this season.

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Dallas Mavericks guard Jason Kidd only managed to play slightly more than two minutes in the team’s 116-101 victory over the Utah Jazz Friday night due to a strained right calf.

The injury kept him out of action for the Mavs’ 101-100 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday, the same day that word came that Kidd’s injury could keep him out for at least a week, according to the Dallas Morning News.

The paper points out, though, that this could be good news: “The Mavericks improved to 8-0 in games when either Kidd or (Dirk) Nowitzki or both have missed,” the Morning News notes.

Actually, there was some relief on the Mavs about the Kidd news. It was initially thought to be much worse, the paper reports.

The 38-year-old, 10-time All-Star is averaging 28:41 minutes, 4.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game for the Southwest Division-leading Mavs.

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The Chicago Bulls have gone 2-2 in the four games that they’ve played without forward Luol Deng, thanks to a torn ligament in his left wrist.

He told teammates he was ready to return for Sunday’s 93-97 loss to the Miami Heat, but rod the bench anyway, according to the Chicago Tribune. However, Bulls fans should expect to see him out on the floor soon.

“I would say he’s very close,” coach Tom Thibodeau said, according to the Trib. “He’s doing more and more and feels a lot better. We want to make sure he feels good about playing. He still has to take contact on it. As long as he’s moving in the right direction, we’re pleased with that.”

Deng, the seventh overall pick in the 2004 draft, is averaging 15.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.

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Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo has now missed four consecutive games with a hurting wrist and the Boston Globe reports that there is no set timetable for his return to action.

“It appeared Rajon Rondo was close to returning to the lineup a few days ago after spraining his right wrist Jan. 18, the Celtics point guard said (Thursday) he is not able to shoot or dribble with consistency and could miss several more days,” the Globe reports.

Rondo put his wrist at 45 percent, but also noted that he “played with (his) elbow at 37 percent last year,” according to the Globe.

In the 13 games that he has played in this season, the 25-year-old two-time All-Star has averaged 19 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 9.4 assists per game.

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