Skip to main content

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has joined the 1,000 win club among NBA coachesDarron Cummings/The Associated Press

Gregg Popovich spent 19 seasons teaching his players how to use teamwork and ball movement to break down defences.

The philosophy still works.

On a night San Antonio started the fourth quarter in a 14-point hole at Indiana, Popovich's principles paid off again as Marco Belinelli freed himself with a pump fake and hit an 18-foot baseline jumper to give San Antonio a 95-93 victory that made Popovich the ninth member of the NBA's 1,000-win club.

"It was looking bleak for a while, but the second group came out there and gave us a lot of energy and the starters came back in and executed pretty well," the Spurs' longtime coach said.

Popovich has won plenty of games this way over the years, and Monday night was not much different.

Instead of relying on his big three – Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker – Popovich was content to let the supporting cast do some heavy lifting. They didn't let him down.

When Kawhi Leonard drove toward the lane, he saw Belinelli in the left corner. The Italian guard barely beat the shot clock, and then the Spurs' defence challenged George Hill's 3-pointer from the top of the key, which came up short.

Popovich celebrated in his typical low-key manner. He walked to midcourt, put an arm around Pacers coach Frank Vogel, hugged one of his former players and stoically strolled into the Spurs' locker room.

Only two coaches, Phil Jackson and Pat Riley, reached 1,000 wins faster than Pop. Only one other coach, Jerry Sloan, achieved the feat with one team. Sloan won 1,127 games with Utah. Popovich is 1,000-462 in 19 NBA seasons, all with San Antonio.

And it came on the most fitting stage of all for an Indiana native. Popovich was born in the northwestern part of the Hoosier State and grew up playing high school basketball in Merrillville, Indiana.

But it was Popovich's players who wanted the win most, especially after blowing their first chance Sunday night in Toronto.

"We had a great opportunity. We were up three with one minute to go and we were playing," Parker said after scoring 19 points. "And the same thing, we couldn't make a shot, but it happens. We made it up today."

The difference was evident as San Antonio methodically erased a nine-point deficit over the final 5 1/2 minutes by following Popovich's grand plan.

After deactivating the uninjured Ginobili, he carefully tracked the minutes of Parker and Duncan. Each played 30 minutes, 23 seconds and didn't enter the fourth quarter until just before the closing run began.

Duncan wound up with 15 points and eight rebounds.

But the Pacers still couldn't win it.

"We just weren't solid enough down the stretch and gave them too many extra possessions," Pacers forward David West said. "We're disappointed we let this game get away."

West finished with 10 points and a season-high 18 rebounds. Rodney Stuckey had 19 points as the Pacers' three-game winning streak ended.

Indiana was ahead 79-65 after three quarters and still led 91-82 with 5:35 to go, but managed just one more basket, a 20-foot pull-up jumper from Stuckey with 2:33 left.

In between, the Spurs relied on sharing the ball. Danny Green's layup and Leonard's three-point play got the final rally started. When Duncan put in another layup and Parker made two free throws, the score was tied at 91 with 2:59 left.

After Stuckey's basket and Aron Baynes' tip-in with 56.7 seconds tied it again, Belinelli made his shot. Hill did not.

"I've been here a long time and I've had good players. That's the formula," Popovich said. "Getting the players is difficult, but I've been fortunate to have good ones."

CLIPPERS 115, MAVERICKS 98

DALLAS – DeAndre Jordan had 22 points and a career-high 27 rebounds, and Los Angeles won without Blake Griffin, beating Dallas after the Mavericks lost Tyson Chandler and Monta Ellis to injuries in the first 4 minutes.

With Dallas' interior defence and rebounding gutted by the loss of Chandler, Jordan led the way as the Clippers stopped a season-high, four-game losing streak. Chris Paul had 25 points and 13 assists for Los Angeles.

Chandler injured his left ankle 39 seconds in and went to the locker room about a minute later. Ellis joined him there with 8:03 left in the first quarter after hurting his left hip.

The Dallas injuries came on a night that started with news that Griffin would be out three to four weeks after surgery earlier in the day for a staph infection in his right elbow.

Charlie Villanueva tried to keep Dallas in the game by scoring 13 points in the last 5 minutes of the first quarter. He finished with a season-high 26.

THUNDER 124, NUGGETS 114

DENVER – Kevin Durant scored 40 points, Russell Westbrook had 26 and Oklahoma City handed Denver its sixth loss in a row.

Durant matched a career best by hitting seven 3-pointers and finished 13 of 19 from the floor. Mitch McGary added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder.

The Nuggets, who have lost 13 of 14, were led by Wilson Chandler's 23 points. Kenneth Faried and Ty Lawson each added 22 for Denver, which also lost its sixth straight at home – its longest home skid since dropping seven in a row at the Pepsi Center from Feb. 6 to March 2, 2003.

WARRIORS 89, 76ERS 84

PHILADELPHIA – Stephen Curry scored 20 points, Leandro Barbosa had 16 off the bench and Golden State snapped Philadelphia's four-game home winning streak.

Klay Thompson and former Sixer Andre Iguodala added 13 points apiece for the Warriors (41-9), who have won four of five and two straight after opening their four-game road trip with a loss to the Hawks on Friday.

Robert Covington scored 21 points to pace the 76ers (12-41), who committed 27 turnovers and shot 7 for 24 from 3-point range. Luc Mbah a Moute had 13 points and nine rebounds.

Golden State, the NBA's second-best 3-point shooting team, shot just 7 for 29 from behind the arc.

HAWKS 117, TIMBERWOLVES 105

MINNEAPOLIS – Al Horford scored a season-high 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and DeMarre Carroll added a career-best 26 points to lift Atlanta over Minnesota.

Paul Millsap had 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Hawks (43-10), who bounced back from a loss to Memphis the previous night. The NBA-leading Hawks still have not lost back-to-back games since Nov. 18. They shot 51 per cent and outscored Minnesota 58-44 in the paint.

Kevin Martin scored 21 points and Shabazz Muhammad had 18 points and eight rebounds in his first game since Jan. 9 because of a strained oblique for Minnesota. The Timberwolves lost for the first time in four games.

WIZARDS 96, MAGIC 80

WASHINGTON – John Wall fell one point shy of his first triple-double of the season, Marcin Gortat had 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Washington beat Orlando to sweep the season series.

Wall hit a 3-pointer early in the third quarter – the first shot made from beyond the arc by either team – to open an 11-0 run that put Washington in control. He wound up with nine points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds after missing a floater with about 50 seconds left.

The Wizards have won two in a row following a five-game losing streak. They went 4-0 against the Magic this season and have won the past eight matchups.

Evan Fournier scored 18 for Orlando, which is 1-2 under interim coach James Borrego. Overall, the Magic have lost 12 of 13.

HEAT 109, KNICKS 95

MIAMI – Chris Bosh scored 32 points, Mario Chalmers added 18 and Miami pulled away from New York.

Luol Deng and Norris Cole each scored 12 for the Heat, who posted their biggest comeback win of the season after trailing by 14 early.

Carmelo Anthony scored 26 points for the Knicks, who became the first NBA team this season to be guaranteed of finishing with a losing record. Anthony left in the fourth quarter to get his knee re-taped, but never returned.

The Heat outscored New York 32-18 in the fourth.

Miami again was without Dwyane Wade, still sidelined by a strained hamstring.

BUCKS 103, NETS 97

MILWAUKEE – Khris Middleton scored 12 of his 18 points in the third quarter, and Milwaukee rallied from a 17-point deficit to beat Brooklyn.

Jared Dudley had 19 points for Milwaukee, which won its fifth straight home game. Giannis Antetokounmpo added 12 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and three steals.

After a poor-shooting first half, the Bucks turned up the defensive pressure and forced eight turnovers in the third quarter as they outscored Brooklyn by 16.

Jarrett Jack had 26 points for the Nets.

JAZZ 100, PELICANS 96

NEW ORLEANS – Gordon Hayward scored 25 of his 32 points in the second half, and Utah overcame a 14-point, third-quarter deficit to defeat New Orleans.

Derrick Favors scored 18 and Enes Kanter had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Utah, which won its second straight while handing the Pelicans their second consecutive loss.

Eric Gordon tied a career high with seven 3-pointers on eight attempts and finished with 31 points for the Pelicans. Tyreke Evans added 18 points and 10 assists.

New Orleans was unable to overcome the absence of leading scorer and rebounder Anthony Davis, who sprained his right shoulder on Saturday, and Ryan Anderson, who has a sore right elbow.

Interact with The Globe