NEW YORK -- Daniel Murphy is proud he put fatherhood ahead of baseball, and New York Mets manager Terry Collins thinks criticism his second baseman received for taking paternity leave this week was unfair. Murphy made his season debut Thursday, three days after the birth of son Noah. He called staying in Florida an extra day "the right decision to make" following wife Victorias cesarean section and said "we felt the best thing for our family was for me to stay." He learned Sunday that his wifes water broke, then travelled to Florida and missed Mondays 9-7 opening loss to Washington and Wednesday nights 5-1 defeat. He said his son was born at 12:02 p.m. Monday. Major league rules allow up to three days of paternity leave, and WFAN broadcaster Mike Francesa said on the air Wednesday that Murphy should not have skipped the second game. "One day I understand. And in the old days they didnt do that," Francesa said. "But one day, go see the baby be born and come back. Youre a Major League Baseball player. You can hire a nurse to take care of the baby if your wife needs help." A day later, Collins bristled after learning of the comments. "If youre accusing Dan Murphy of not wanting to play -- this guy played 161 games last year, wore himself out, played through all sorts of discomfort," he said. "You know, the man had his first child. Hes allowed to be there. The rules state that he can be there, so he went. Theres nothing against it. Theres nothing wrong with it. You know, he missed two games. Its not like hes missed 10. You know, when you start attacking Dan Murphys credibility, you need to look in the mirror a little bit." Murphy said he received text messages about the criticism. He was applauded before his first at-bat, singled and scored the Mets first run against the Nationals. He said his son was named after the Biblical character Noah, not for Mets teammate Noah Syndergaard. "People are going to say you named him after the monstrosity that throws like 1,000 miles an hour," Murphy said. "We didnt. Noah came from Noahs Ark. Peace and rest is what it means." Baby Noah kept his parents awake at 3 a.m. Wednesday. "We had our first panic session. It was dark. She tried to change a diaper, couldnt do it. I came in," he said. "It was just the three of us, 3 oclock in the morning, all freaking out. He was the only one screaming. I wanted to." NOTES: Murphy took the roster spot of OF Chris Young, who was put on the 15-day disabled list because of tightness in his right quadriceps. St. Louis Cardinals Gear . -- Wes Welker is unlikely to suit up for Denvers game Thursday against San Diego after leaving Sundays win over Tennessee with his second concussion in four games. Marcell Ozuna Jersey . -- Jonathan Vilmas season is over and his future on the football field is in doubt. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/874t-lane-thomas-jersey-cardinals.html . The 31-year-old Russian dominated the No. 3-ranked Ferrer throughout, breaking the defending champion and local favourite four times on the indoor hard court. Stan Musial Cardinals Jersey .com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day. Gussie Busch Cardinals Jersey . James Jones got his turn Sunday. And the lift he brought, combined with the expected playoff showings from LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, have the Heat off and running in these playoffs. SAN ANTONIO -- The previous time the Spurs and Golden State Warriors squared off, it was all about sharp shooting from both teams. That was in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs last season, which San Antonio won in six games. On Friday night, defence took over, particularly in the final 2:23, when the two teams were a combined 0 for 8 from the field. Tony Parker provided a late surge for the second consecutive game by scoring 18 points, including the last seven for the Spurs as they held off the Warriors 76-74. "Again, Tony made some huge buckets to keep the lead when we were dry," Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. Parker, who scored 15 of the Spurs final 16 points in a victory over Phoenix two nights earlier, left the AT&T Center immediately after the win and was not available to the media. Golden State star guard Stephan Curry did not play after bruising his left ankle Wednesday night against Minnesota. Minus him, the Spurs won their 30th straight regular-season home game against the Warriors. But they still had a chance to end the streak after Parker missed two free throws with 16.4 seconds remaining. Andre Iguodala drove to the basket and tried a layup that rolled off the rim at the buzzer. "I got a decent shot off," Iguodala said. "Tim (Duncan) did a good job of making me alter the shot a little bit." After Golden States David Lee hit two free throws with 2:23 left, both teams failed to find the basket. "Were two teams that lay a solid foundation of solid defensive principles," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "It was a grind out there. It was tough to score on both sides." Golden State entered the night ranked second in the league in field goal percentage at slightly over 50 per cent.dddddddddddd But a stout San Antonio defence held the Warriors to 40 per cent. "Overall, theyre a hard team to guard, so I thought the defence was some of the better defence weve played this year," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "(We) did a lot of one-on-one on the post and one-on-one on the perimeter. We certainly couldnt put it in the basket, so the defence was really important for us tonight." Kawhi Leonard added 13 points for the Spurs, who improved to a conference-best 5-1. Toney Douglas came off the bench to lead Golden State with 20 points. Lee added 13 and Clay Thompson had 11. The Spurs shot 39.2 per cent from the field, marking the fifth time in six games this season that Golden State held its opponent to under 40 per cent from the field. San Antonio jumped out to an early double-digit lead, but struggled in the second quarter, hitting just two field goals in the first seven minutes. Still, the Spurs managed to maintain the lead by plugging their big men in the middle and forcing Golden State to take outside jumpers. NOTES: With the win, Duncan and Parker are now No. 4 all-time in league history for victories by teammates with 597. ... Harrison Barnes, who missed the Warriors first four games of the season with left toe inflammation, made his first start of the season, filling in for Curry. Barnes scored five points. ... Spurs F Matt Bonner missed his second straight game with tightness in his left calf. ... The Spurs regular-season home winning streak against Golden State is their longest active string against any team. The Warriors, however, won at San Antonio in last seasons playoffs. ' ' '