Spurs’ Popovich ties Nelson for career wins record

SAN ANTONIO — Gregg Popovich tied Don Nelson’s NBA record with his 1,335th career victory as a coach in the San Antonio Spurs’ 117-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.

Popovich, in his 26th season, will try to pass Nelson when San Antonio hosts the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

The Spurs had lost four straight with Popovich on the precipice of matching the record, and they were in danger of extendign that skid with a late collapse against the struggling Lakers, who were without star LeBron James due to a sore left knee.

Dejounte Murray had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Jakob Poeltl and Josh Richardson each had 18 points. Richardson was making his first start with San Antonio.

Talen Horton-Taylor had 18 points to lead Los Angeles and Russell Westbrook, Malik Monk and Carmelo Anthony added 17 points each.

Popovich has five NBA titles and is a lock for enshrinement in the NBA Hall of Fame after a career in which he’s coached Spurs greats including David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Robinson sat courtside Monday, and Popovich jokingly told him to check into the game during a time.

These aren’t the same Spurs from Robinson’s prime. San Antonio is 25-40, already assured of a third straight losing season after 22 consecutive finishes over .500. Monday’s game nearly got away, too.

The Lakers pulled within 108-105 on Horton-Taylor’s jumper with 5:40 left, and the Spurs were scoreless for nearly four minutes before Poeltl’s free throw with 37.4 seconds left. Los Angeles never got closer than three, though.

The Lakers were without James and Anthony Davis. James was a late scratch Monday after scoring a season-high 56 points Saturday in a victory over the Golden State Warriors.

Los Angeles had lost four straight and seven of eight prior to James’ highest point total with the Lakers, which matched the third highest of his career.

The Lakers remained in the game by cutting to the rim without the ball for open layups, drives to the basket and the Spurs’ poor free-throw shooting. San Antonio was 16 for 30 on free throws, including 6 for 14 in the third quarter.

Pistons 113, Hawks 110

DETROIT — Cade Cunningham had 28 points and 10 assists, lifting the Detroit Pistons to an overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks.

“He’s the Rookie of the Year,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey. “It’s not even close.”

Jerami Grant scored 23 and reserve Marvin Bagley had 19 points for the Pistons, who have won a season-high three straight and six of their last eight games.

“I wish it was back in November, but it takes time for guys to grow,” Casey said. “I’m really optimistic about … the way they’re growing.”

Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic had 22 points before fouling out with 1.6 seconds left, drawing a whistle while defending Cunningham on an inbounds pass.

“I feel bad that I did it, but I didn’t have any intention of fouling the guy,” Bogdanovic said.

The Hawks, likely competing for the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs, had chances to win late in regulation and to extend the game to another overtime against a team playing only for pride.

But Trae Young and John Hunter each missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the game, and Hunter split free throws with 1.6 seconds left in regulation. Young also missed a jump shot with 6 seconds left in the fourth quarter to hurt his team’s chances of winning a third straight game.

“You have to have the same mindset every game, even against teams that are rebuilding,” said Young, who had 14 points on 5-of-20 shooting and 12 assists.

Atlanta led 30-29 after the first quarter, when Young accounted for most of its offense with eight points and four assists. Reserve Danilo Gallinari made three straight 3-pointers to put the Hawks ahead by nine early in the second quarter.

Young had both knees wrapped with heating pads while he seat on the bench for the first few minutes of the second half. After starting 3 of 3 and scoring eight points in the first 3:11, the dynamic guard missed his next 10 shots. He ended his drought with a game-tying shot in the lane with 4:50 to go in the fourth.

“We had it going early, but we weren’t able to sustain it,” Young said.

Heat 123, Rockets 106

MIAMI — Victor Oladipo scored 11 points in in his first game in nearly a year, Tyler Herro scored 21 of his 31 points in the second quarter and the Miami Heat beat the Houston Rockets.

Oladipo, playing his first game since April 8 following a second surgery to repair a right quadriceps tendon, and made an immediate impact. He took a charge on his first defensive possession, hitting the deck without any signs of problems, then took another later in the game and had a dunk near the end of his 15-minute stint.

Jimmy Butler scored 21 points for Miami, which got Kyle Lowry back after a four-game absence for personal reasons. Bam Adebayo finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Heat.

Kevin Porter Jr. scored 22 points for Houston, which got 20 from Jalen Green, 16 from Josh Christopher and 14 from KJ Martin. Green was 4 for 4 from 3-point range in the game’s first 5:40, then missed his final six tries from beyond the arc.

The Heat trailed by 13 late in the first half before Herro scored 15 points in a 23-6 run over the final 4:35 before intermission. Butler had the other eight points in that run for the Heat, a burst capped by Herro making a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left and then a 36-footer just before the buzzer.

But the story was Oladipo, who was 4 for 7 from the field, 2 for 3 from 3-point range, plus had four assists against his former team. He was with the Rockets briefly last season, before getting traded to Miami and playing in just four games before being shut down for a second surgery on the leg he originally injured in 2019.

Rockets coach Stephen Silas had Oladipo in Houston last season and said he enjoyed their 20 games together.

“He’s competitive. He wants to do things the right way. He is a fighter. For him to fight through all of the injuries that he’s had and manage the ups and downs and the emotional part of what he’s been through is admirable,” Silas said. “And he’s just a great guy, a really good person to kind of sit down and talk to.”

Mavericks 111, Jazz 103

DALLAS — Luka Doncic had 35 points and a season-high 16 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks held on for a victory over the Utah Jazz in a matchup of possible first-round playoff opponents.

Spencer Dinwiddie scored 23 points and Dorian Finney-Smith added 21 for the Mavericks, who won their fifth consecutive game and pulled within a half-game of the Jazz for the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 points and Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz, who led for just 13 seconds early in the last of their five-game road trip.

Dallas can even the series in the final regular-season meeting at home March 27.

If there is a playoff meeting, all eyes will be on Doncic and Gobert after two run-ins Monday between the Dallas star and Utah’s 7-foot-1 center.

The first came at the end of the first half when Doncic missed a shot at the buzzer and turned to talk to a referee, believing he had been fouled. Gobert tossed the ball to Doncic, who immediately turned to go after Gobert.

Dinwiddie guided Doncic toward the tunnel to the locker room, but not soon enough to keep Doncic from getting his 13th technical, three shy of a one-game suspension, though the technical count resets for the playoffs.

Gobert, who got an early technical after elbowing Dwight Powell in the head as Powell was called for a foul, tripped Doncic in the third quarter after Doncic’s alley-oop pass to Powell. Doncic signaled as though he thought Gobert would get thrown out on review because of a second technical, but officials ruled the contact was incidental.

A 20-point Dallas lead late in the third quarter was at seven in the final two minutes of the game when Doncic stole Donovan Mitchell’s pass and fed Finney-Smith for an alley-oop dunk.

Bogdanovic, a night removed from setting a franchise record with 11 made 3-pointers against Oklahoma City, missed one from deep. Doncic got the rebound, his season-high 16th, and made two free throws for a 108-97 lead with 51 seconds remaining.

Bogdanovic finished 4 of 8 from behind the arc.

Dinwiddie made his second consecutive start, this time because Jalen Brunson was out with a right foot contusion. Recently acquired from Washington in a trade that sent Kristaps Porzingis to the Wizards, Dinwiddie’s first start for Dallas came Saturday, when he scored 36 points with Doncic out because of a left toe issue.

Finney-Smith was 4 of 10 from 3 in his fifth consecutive game of shooting at least 40% from beyond the arc. Dinwiddie was 5 of 9 from 3 and Doncic 5 of 11.

Timberwovles 124, Trail Blazers 81

MINNEAPOLIS — Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 13 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Portland Trail Blazers by double digits for the second time in three days.

Malik Beasley added 19 points, and Naz Reid had 18 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Minnesota.

Towns’ effort came in less than three quarters, as he and most of Minnesota’s starters stayed on the bench in the fourth with the game well in hand. Towns joined the home crowd in doing the wave from the bench as the Timberwolves fans reveled in their team’s blowout victory. Wolves guard Patrick Beverley added to the fun by launching T-shirts into the crowd during the fourth quarter.

Monday’s game came two days after the Wolves beat Portland by 15 points at Target Center. Towns had 36 points in that win.

Minnesota matched its season-high win streak at five games as it tries to keep pace in the Western Conference.

Brandon Williams led the Trail Blazers with 27 points. Portland has dropped five straight after winning four in a row.

Unlike Saturday, when Portland held a lead in the second half, Minnesota left no doubt about Monday’s outcome. The Wolves never let up on the way to the 43-point rout.

Both teams were without key players Monday. D’Angelo Russell, who had 14 points and 15 assists Saturday against Portland, was out with bilateral hamstring soreness. Anthony Edwards missed his fourth straight game with a left knee injury.

Portland was missing Anfernee Simons, who scored a game-high 38 points against Minnesota on Saturday. The fourth-year guard is averaging 17.3 ppg this season and missed the game with a left quad contusion.

Jaylen Nowell left the game with 1:31 left in the first half after getting hit in the face by Josh Hart’s elbow. His injury was announced as a nasal contusion and he missed the second half.