NBA short takes

San Antonio's stars are back for another year of the quirky commercials they've shot annually for the H-E-B chain of grocery stores in Texas.

This one features Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and the team's Coyote mascot grilling burgers in a backyard when they finally goad Australian teammate Patty Mills into asking them to throw one on "the barbie" for him.

"The fact we have a great camaraderie on court translates into being in a nice spot when you do things like that," said Ginobili, an Argentinian. "Most of us, when we do commercials, it's just one guy in front of a camera.

"In this case, it's five guys always with a funny line. They let you sort of improvise and let you say something you're thinking and it makes it funny because the laughs are real.

"Patty's a rookie, but he was surprisingly good. With that type of accent, everything becomes funny. I don't have that. I have a different type of accent."

The Timberwolves and the Sacramento Kings met on Saturday night at Target Center in a tussle of two teams that haven't reached the playoffs in seemingly forever. Nobody has waited longer than these two for a return to the postseason:

TeamLast playoffs

Sacramento2006

Detroit2009

Phoenix2010