The Spurs and Hawks flat-out played a playoff game Sunday night, the intensity was that high. The problem is San Antonio couldn't hold onto a late lead, lost in overtime and finds itself fending off falling into eighth place with a brutal finishing stretch ahead.

Everyone knows what eighth place means: a first-round date with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Here's the other problem with losing a game in which Tim Duncan logged a highly unusual 41 minutes, Richard Jefferson played 44 minutes and Manu Ginobili, who scored 38 points, was on the floor for 45 minutes: The Spurs turn around and play at Oklahoma City on Monday night.

"It was the worst-case scenario going to overtime on the (first night of) a tough back-to-back, and then losing," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "It would have been better to have won."

The Spurs are not a good team on the second night of back-to-backs. The last set saw a blowout loss at Orlando one night after picking up a solid win at Miami.

San Antonio better get used to it in the final 14 games of the season. Three more back-to-backs remain and after playing the Thunder, the schedule looks murderous with games against Cleveland, the Los Angeles Lakers twice, Boston, Orlando, Phoenix, Denver and Dallas.

HAWKS 119, SPURS 114 (OT): San Antonio clawed back from several fourth-quarter deficits, but then couldn't hold onto their own slim lead down the stretch and fell in overtime. Manu Ginobili was sensational with 38 points and six assists in 45 minutes. Tim Duncan scored 29 points and had 13 rebounds. No other Spurs player scored more than 12 points. Marvin Williams led the Hawks with 26 points and nine rebounds. Al Horford added 22 points and 18 rebounds. Joe Johnson had 20 points and Jamal Crawford had 19 points.

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