National Basketball Association

Spurs' Parker back in lineup vs. Heat

Published Mar. 4, 2011 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Spurs point guard Tony Parker will start against the Miami Heat, returning from a sore calf muscle much sooner than expected.

Parker's surprise return puts the NBA-best Spurs at full strength for Friday night's game against the LeBron James and the Miami Heat.

The Spurs had projected that Parker could miss up to a month after straining his left calf in a win over Memphis on Sunday. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich joked before Friday's game that ''the foie grois and truffle treatment really worked'' for Parker, who is from Paris.

Parker is averaging 17.1 points and 6.6 assists.