Spurs lose Tony Parker for month to ankle sprain

Veteran point guard Tony Parker had entered the MVP conversation with the Spurs atop the NBA.

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SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker will be out for about a month with a left ankle sprain.

Parker, the team's leading assist man, injured the ankle in the third period of Friday night's win over the Sacramento Kings.

The team announced Saturday afternoon that an MRI showed Parker had a Grade 2 left ankle sprain, and will be out for "approximately four weeks."

The 30-year-old Parker closed out February averaging 26.1 points and 8.3 assists and had shot 54 percent from the field.

On Friday night, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Parker was "playing better than any other point guard in the league" this year, and that the team would miss him.

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