Spurs’ Parker to have MRI exam on tight hamstring

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker is scheduled to have an MRI exam on a tight hamstring today, leaving his availability for Game 4 of the NBA Finals very much up in the air.

Parker was injured early in the second half of Game 3 against Miami on Tuesday night. He tried to play through it, but left the game early in the fourth quarter with the Spurs pulling away to an eventual 113-77 victory.

Parker had just six points and eight assists in 27 minutes, and now Spurs fans will have to hold their breath to see if their star point guard will be ready for the next game on Thursday.

“Hopefully it’s nothing big and it’s just cramping or got tight on me,” Parker said after his Spurs took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. “I don’t know. It was just a weird feeling.”

After he initially felt something tighten up, Parker left the floor to have the team’s trainers examine him. He returned later in the third quarter, then played just 1:27 of the fourth before sitting down.

“I just wanted to make sure the doctor said I was OK and then I played two minutes in the fourth quarter and we were up big so (coach Gregg Popovich) didn’t want to take a risk,” Parker said. “We will see tomorrow.”

Fortunately for the Spurs, they didn’t need the player who had been the most important piece to the march to their first finals since 2007. Role players Danny Green and Gary Neal hit 13 of San Antonio’s finals record 16 3-pointers, and the Spurs responded to the Game 2 drubbing in Miami with a laugher in their first game back home.

Now the Spurs are two victories away from the fifth championship in franchise history. But they know they’ll need a healthy Parker if they’re going to finish off LeBron James and the rest of the defending champions.

“Hopefully it just got tight and hopefully I will be fine,” Parker said.