Preview capsule for the Boston-Milwaukee Eastern Conference semifinal series that starts Sunday:
No. 2 BOSTON CELTICS (51-31, 4-0) vs. No. 3 MILWAUKEE BUCKS (51-31, 4-1)
DENVER (AP) — Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson each scored 20 points to help the San Antonio Spurs secure a spot in the play-in tournament Tuesday night following a 116-97 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
HOUSTON (AP) — Dejounte Murray scored a career-high 33 points and the San Antonio Spurs held on for a 123-120 win over the Houston Rockets Monday night to inch closer to the final play-in spot in the Western Conference.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Dejounte Murray could feel his annoyance building as San Antonio coaches repeatedly went back over video of the Spurs' blowout loss to New Orleans in the previous meeting between the two Western Conference play-in hopefuls.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns had a team-record 60 points — the most scored in the NBA this season — and the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the San Antonio Spurs 149-139 on Monday night.
Towns shot 19 for 31 and grabbed 17 rebounds in surpassing his previous best of 56 points against Atlanta on March 28, 2018.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton had 19 points and 10 assists and the Indiana Pacers snapped a three-game skid, beating the San Antonio Spurs 119-108 on Saturday night.
San Antonio sat out Dejounte Murray, Keldon Johnson and Jakob Poeltl a night after coach Gregg Popovich became the winningest coach in NBA history.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Gregg Popovich's name is on top of the NBA regular-season victory list. He thinks of it more as a group accomplishment.
“All of us share in this record," Popovich said Friday night after getting his record-breaking 1,336th victory when the San Antonio Spurs rallied to beat the Utah Jazz 104-102.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Gregg Popovich is the winningest coach in NBA regular-season history, getting his 1,336th victory when the San Antonio Spurs rallied to beat the Utah Jazz 104-102 on Friday night.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Fred VanVleet had 26 points and the Toronto Raptors beat the San Antonio Spurs 119-104 on Wednesday night, delaying Gregg Popovich’s coronation as the winningest coach in NBA history.
Red Auerbach. Lenny Wilkens. Don Nelson. Going back to the end of the NBA’s inaugural season 75 years ago, before it was even called the NBA, they’re the only coaches to hold the distinction of having more wins than anyone else.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — 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.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — 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 chose to ignore the achievement, as he has many others during his illustrious 26-year tenure leading San Antonio.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James will not play Monday against the San Antonio Spurs after experiencing soreness in his left knee following a 56-point effort against the Golden State Warriors.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Terry Rozier scored 31 points and the Charlotte Hornets beat San Antonio 123-117 on Saturday night, leaving Spurs coach Gregg Popovich a victory short of tying the NBA record.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Harrison Barnes had 27 points and the Sacramento Kings held off San Antonio 115-112 on Thursday night, keeping Spurs coach Gregg Popovich a victory shy of tying Don Nelson’s NBA record.
MIAMI (AP) — Gregg Popovich is going to have to wait at least a couple more days before tying the NBA record for regular-season victories.
The starting center from his Olympic gold-medal-winning team at the Tokyo Games saw to that.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Coming off his first All-Star appearance, Dejounte Murray had to work extra hard in the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season.
Murray had 31 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists and the San Antonio Spurs outlasted the Washington Wizards 157-153 in double overtime Friday night.
HOUSTON (AP) — Dejounte Murray and Jakob Poeltl combined for 37 points in three quarters to help the San Antonio Spurs coast to a 134-104 victory over the Houston Rockets Tuesday night.
Murray had 19 points and 10 assists and Poeltl had 18 points with nine rebounds by the end of the third quarter, and neither played after that with the Spurs up by 31.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The 76ers lost the lead — and then their cool.
Reggie Jackson scored 19 points, including two free throws with 18.2 seconds remaining, and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied from a 24-point second-half deficit to beat Joel Embiid and Philadelphia 102-101 on Friday night.
Becky Hammon said she has always followed her heart and not worried about what other people think of her career decisions.
There were concerns when she chose to play at Colorado State instead of a bigger school.
NEW YORK (AP) — Gregg Popovich had ample time for a nice New York dinner, as long as a gut-wrenching loss didn't ruin his appetite.
Coronavirus-caused changes to the NBA schedule moved up San Antonio’s game in Brooklyn on Sunday from a night to a noon tip.
BOSTON (AP) — Gregg Popovich became the first to coach 2,000 NBA games with the same team, and Dejounte Murray scored 22 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs past the Boston Celtics 99-97 on Wednesday night.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Jordan Clarkson provided Utah with a needed emotional lift, which he was able to maintain despite a fan trying to shake him.
Clarkson scored 23 points, Rudy Gobert had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Jazz beat the San Antonio Spurs 110-104 on Monday night for their fourth straight victory.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Keldon Johnson scored 27 points and the San Antonio Spurs had their highest-scoring game of the season, beating short-handed Detroit 144-109 on Sunday to extend the Pistons’ road skid to 10.
Steve Kerr saw everything that Gregg Popovich went through as coach of the U.S. men’s national team, saw exactly how difficult it was last summer for the Americans to emerge from the Tokyo Olympics with another gold medal.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Jakob Poeltl had 24 points and 12 rebounds, Derrick White added 24 points, and the San Antonio Spurs beat the New Orleans Pelicans 112-97 on Sunday night.
San Antonio outscored New Orleans 29-15 in the final quarter while shooting 60 percent from the field in the fourth.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Denver Nuggets responded to their worst loss of the season just as coach Michael Malone had hoped.
Nikola Jokic had 35 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists and the Nuggets avenged an earlier loss to San Antonio, beating the Spurs 127-112 on Saturday night.
The shot has been replayed millions of times already on video and social platforms. And considering it was from the stands before a game, it obviously didn’t even count.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Bryn Forbes had 18 points off the bench and the San Antonio Spurs extended their winning streak to a season-high three games with a 114-83 victory over the shorthanded Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio blew another big lead, but this time it led to a celebration for the Spurs.
Dejounte Murray had 29 points and 11 rebounds and the Spurs rallied in the final minute after blowing a 24-point lead to beat the Boston Celtics 96-88 on Friday night, snapping a six-game skid.
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — In addition to Dejounte Murray shooting the 3-pointer better and scoring at a career-best clip, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said his point guard has shown marked improvement in his leadership abilities and knowing when to take games over.
The final buzzer sounded at the Tokyo Olympics, the gold medal for the U.S. was won and Gregg Popovich held his emotions in check for at least a couple of minutes.
DENVER (AP) — Not everyone thought Nikola Jokic should have won the MVP award last season. His Denver teammates did, and one, in fact, predicted he would repeat.
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Jay Wright left for Japan on July 2 as a two-time national champion at Villanova and winner of enough coach of the year awards and Big East titles to fill several trophy cases.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich has loosened things up on the court after years of structure and it resulted in another successful opener for the Spurs.
Devin Vassell scored 19 points, Lonnie Walker added 17 and the San Antonio Spurs continued their success on opening night by dominating the Orlando Magic 123-97 on Wednesday night.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs are confronting basic questions they have not faced in decades.
Who is taking the last shot of the game in a critical situation? Which player will provide the team with leadership?
Utah center Rudy Gobert revealed that after much deliberation, he decided to become vaccinated. San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich has gotten his booster shot already. Boston coach Ime Udoka had his shots and tested positive for COVID-19 anyway.
SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — Nothing about the summer was easy for the U.S. men’s basketball team, and neither was the gold-medal game.
SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — Gregg Popovich wrapped his arms around Australia's Patty Mills when it was over, and even the coach of the U.S. team was struck by how the losing team must have been feeling at the final buzzer.
SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — There were 49 NBA players at the Tokyo Games when the Olympics started.
Make it 50.
The San Antonio Spurs agreed to terms with Australia center Jock Landale to a two-year contract on Wednesday — one day before Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, the coach of the U.S.
SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — The U.S. lost its first two exhibition games of the summer in Las Vegas, dropped its opening game at these Olympics and had a difficult time shaking free of the Czech Republic in their group-play finale.
SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — The Americans applauded the Iranian national anthem. The Iranians applauded the U.S. anthem. There were a few handshakes before, plenty more handshakes after, and words of sportsmanship between the sides throughout the game.
SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — Kevin Durant had a shot. Then another about 20 seconds later.
Jrue Holiday had one. So did Zach LaVine and Bam Adebayo.
The U.S. had five attempts on the pivotal possession of its latest basketball failure and came up empty on all of them.
SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — The U.S. men’s basketball team is finally together.
Devin Booker, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday — the trio of U.S. Olympians who were in the NBA Finals and therefore have not been around their Tokyo Games teammates — arrived in Japan on Saturday night, less than 24 hours before the Americans’ scheduled Olympic opener against France.
Gregg Popovich is regarded as the NBA’s best, a coach that has won five championships and kept his team near the top for a quarter of a century.
In international basketball, he hasn’t yet found that golden touch.
The U.S. Olympic men’s basketball team has been together for two weeks. There have been six practices. The team played four exhibitions. A pair of roster changes have already been required and the Americans have no idea when three other players will join the team for the first time.