SEATTLE, May 1 (UPI) -- The shorthanded San Antonio Spurs face an uphill struggle without Tim Duncan and David Robinson while the Philadelphia 76ers hope to get even Wednesday in the NBA playoffs.
The second-seeded Spurs lead the Seattle SuperSonics, two games to one, but will be hard-pressed to pull out a win Wednesday in Game Four of their Western Conference series without their two 7-footers.
A Most Valuable Player candidate, Duncan will miss Game Four because of the death of his father. Duncan left practice early Monday after learning that his father, William, had been hospitalized.
The elder Duncan died later in the day in North Carolina.
Duncan averaged 26.7 points and 11.7 rebounds in the first three games of this series. He had 27 points and 13 rebounds in the Spurs' 102-75 rout at Seattle in Game Three on Sunday.
Robinson will miss his third straight game due to a strained lower back. San Antonio may also be without forward Danny Ferry, who is listed as doubtful with a sprained wrist on his shooting hand.
"We'll play some (lineup) combinations you haven't seen very much," said Spurs Coach-General Manager Gregg Popovich.
Popovich will probably start 6-7 Malik Rose at power forward and 6-9 Mark Bryant in the middle, with little-used Cherokee Parks in reserve.
The Sonics will be without 6-10 forward Rashard Lewis, who separated his left shoulder after getting tangled up with Rose in Game Three. He already was playing with a severely sprained left ankle that forced him to miss the last 10 regular season games.
If the SuperSonics win Wednesday, the decisive Game Five will be played Friday at San Antonio.
The winner of the series plays the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the conference semifinals.
Two series in the Eastern Conference are headed to a decisive Game Five, and the 76ers can make it three with a win tonight against the Boston Celtics.
After losing twice in Boston, the Sixers averted a sweep with a 108-103 victory Sunday, a game in which they blew a 16-point lead but came back from six points down late in the fourth quarter.
The Charlotte Hornets became the first team to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals, beating the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, 102-85, to win their first-round series, three games to one.
The top-seeded New Jersey Nets and second-seeded Detroit Pistons will play the decisive games in their respective series on Thursday.
The Indiana Pacers got a boost from reserve forward Austin Croshere on Tuesday and evened their first-round series with the Nets at two games apiece with a 97-74 victory.
The decisive fifth game in that series will be at New Jersey, where the Nets owned the best home record in the Eastern Conference at 33-8.
Also on Thursday, the Detroit Pistons will host the Toronto Raptors in Game Five of a first-round series in which the home team has won each time.
