"Gregg Popovich worried about Manu Ginobili, because this is what Popovich does.

Specifically on Saturday, the Spurs coach was worried that Ginobili, back on the floor after a 22-game absence with a broken left hand, might spontaneously combust.

"It will be fun to see him, but there's no telling what might go on," Popovich said before what became an easy-does-it 103-89 victory over New Jersey. "He hasn't played in so long. He might burst the first time he touches the ball."

Ginobili didn't explode. But late in the second quarter at the Prudential Center, he showed why Popovich might prefer to encase his star guard in bubble wrap until May.

Closing out hard on the Nets' Anthony Morrow on a corner 3-pointer at the halftime horn, Ginobili went hurtling into the first row of seats.

Morrow missed, but Ginobili was so upset with himself for misreading the play, he whacked himself in the head with his surgically repaired hand.

Gary Neal scored 18 points to lead a list of six players in double figures for the Spurs, who built a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter and cruised to their seventh consecutive victory and third in a row to open the rodeo trip.

The best news the Spurs (19-9) received Saturday, however: The fifth metacarpal in Ginobili's left hand is again strong enough to survive being attached to him.

"I felt good," Ginobili reported after logging 17 minutes off the bench in his first action since Jan. 2. "I wasn't going to do too many things, first because I can't. I'm not ready. I need to slowly start getting back into basketball shape."

Ginobili made his return at the 7:06 mark of the first quarter. Moments later, he logged his first points in 39 days when he scooped up a loose ball and scrambled the length of the floor for a layup."