As the San Antonio Spurs prepare to battle the Orlando Magic at the TD Waterhouse Centre tonight, some Magicfans are still dreaming about seeing Tim Duncan in a magic uniform next season. Well, they need to keep dreaming because Duncan ain't coming.

Jerry Brewer of the Orlando Sentinel reports: The Orlando Magic simply won't have the salary capspace.

Duncan can opt-out of his contract this summer, and the Magic once estimated that they would have enough cap space to make another run at him, especially after they came close to getting him three summers ago.

However, The Magic figure to have only the Mid-Level Exception ($4.5 million) and the Million Dollar Exception ($1.5 million. They originally had thought that they would have $13 million in capspace.

When he visited the Magic and struggled with a stay-or-go decision, Magic General Manager John Gabriel knew it would be tough to get the 7-foot, 260-pound forward. "Tim Duncan wasn't a free agent," Gabriel said."He was a guy who only wanted to visit one place."

In the end, Duncan didn't come then and he won't come now.

Forget The Shot. The Spurs have long grown accustomed to watching Tim Duncan's buzzer-beating heroics.

What they hadn't seen from him, however, was The Dance.

After silencing the Utah Jazz and their sellout crowd of 19,911 with a stunning 16-foot turnaround at the buzzer, Duncan celebrated the Spurs' 91-90 victory with a full-body shimmy directly in front of the fans.

At least it looked like a shimmy.

Friday had all the makings of a streak-breaking kind of night. The Spurs arrived at the Delta Center without David Robinson, and with a losing road record. All five Utah starters scored in double figures, and the Jazz got a solid performance from Greg Ostertag, who had 11 rebounds to go with his 10 points.
     
Still, the Spurs beat Utah for the 11th consecutive time.
     
"I don't think we have anything over (Utah)," said San Antonio coach Greg Popovich. "We've just had really good fortune."
     
It's been three years since the Jazz beat San Antonio ? their last win came on Feb. 6 of 2000 ? but they appeared poised to get the win Friday. Utah led by as many as 10 in the fourth quarter, and with three minutes to go led by six. A call here, a three-pointer there, and the Spurs have yet another win.

When you're a good team and you lose to another good team 11 straight times, you have to start wondering what they have on you.

Talent? Match-ups? Voodoo?
     
Maybe just Tim Duncan.
     
The NBA's reigning Most Valuable Player proved to be the ultimate difference Friday night at the Delta Center, drilling a 16-foot turnaround jumper as time expired to lift the San Antonio Spurs over the Utah Jazz, 91-90.

"He made a tough shot," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "But it shouldn't have come down to that if we had been able to have a couple of things go our way."

If Tim Duncan has one flaw as a player, it's that he needs a breather once in a while.

The San Antonio Spurs starter scored 29 points against the Jazz at the Delta Center, including the game-winner at the buzzer, and he grabbed 17 rebounds, but it nearly wasn't enough.

The San Antonio Spurs were missing their Admiral on Friday night, but the Jazz still couldn't catch a break.

Not the way all the calls seemed to go against them down the stretch.

Not when the Spurs still have Tim Duncan.

It was Duncan's baseline jumper at the buzzer that gave San Antonio a 91-90 victory at the Delta Center -- the Spurs' 11th in a row over the Jazz -- but that was just part of what left the Jazz with a bitter taste in their mouths.

When Greg Ostertag plays like that, the Jazz usually win.
   
But not Friday night.
   
Despite Ostertag's 10 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots, the San Antonio Spurs rallied for a breathtaking 91-90 victory at the Delta Center.
   
Ostertag scored eight points in the final five minutes of the third quarter, when the Jazz rallied from a 57-53 deficit and took a 69-62 lead.

So many things had to go wrong for the Jazz and right for the Spurs in the final minute Friday night in order for San Antonio to pull out a 91-90 stunner, it almost seemed scripted.
   
Controversial calls favoring the guys in black, much to the anger of a sellout crowd? That's pro wrestling. A missed free throw that gives the game's workhorse hero one last, unlikely opportunity to pull off the miraculous rally at the buzzer? That's Hollywood.
   
And when the story lines coincide, in the final four minutes of a game Utah could have won? That's just Jazz basketball, where Tim Duncan can't be stopped, free throws can't be made and painful stuff like this happens every time the Spurs show up.

David Robinson did not accompany the Spurs to Utah on Thursday after experiencing tightness in his back.

Robinson underwent an MRI and the Spurs hope to have results today. The team does not know whether the injury is related to his floating disc problems last season when he missed most of the playoffs.

Robinson, who also is not expected to play Saturday against Detroit, played 33 minutes Wednesday night and was on the floor at the end of the game. He moved slowly immediately after the game, but did not appear to be in any significant pain later in the evening.

After Robinson's back continued to tighten overnight, the Spurs decided to keep him in San Antonio and have him examined.

Houston?s Cuttino Mobley can expect a call from the NBA today. There seems to be a good chance that he?ll be donating something to the "NBA Fined Players Fund".

Johnny Ludden of the San Antonio Express-News reports that Mobley had a couple of things to say about the officiating during the Rockets? loss to the Spurs on Monday. After an 11-0 deficit in free throws during the first half, Mobley was issued a technical for throwing his mouthpiece after a blown call by the officials.

His frustration came to a boil after the officials ruled that a ball that went out of bounds was last touched by Mobley. They awarded possession to the Spurs. Replays later showed that the Spurs? Stephen Jackson was the last to touch the ball.

After the game, Mobley shouted at official Bob Delaney.

"San Antonio had help," Mobley said. "It's as simple as that. They can't beat us straight up and they know it."