NBA Roundup: Spurs Gregg Popovich Breaks Wins Record

Gregg Popovich is now the winningest coach in NBA history after leading the Spurs to a victory over the Pelicans last night. Here’s a roundup of all the action from around the league.

Gregg Popovich becomes winningest coach in NBA history

The San Antonio Spurs’ Gregg Popovich has become the NBA’s all-time winningest coach, passing former Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson with his 1,411th victory.

Popovich, who has been at the helm of the Spurs since 1996, surpassed Jackson’s record with a 111-86 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night.

The 69-year-old Popovich is in his 24th season as an NBA Head Coach and has led the Spurs to five NBA championships He is also a three-Ime Nba Coach of the Year.

“It’s an unbelievable accomplishment,” said Spurs guard Bryn Forbes. “He’s the best coach to ever do it.”

“He’s done so much for this organization and this city,” added Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge. “It’s just an honor to be part of it.”

The Spurs will now turn their attention to securing the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs, which begin next month.

Spurs defeat Suns to clinch playoff berth

The Spurs wrapped up their 23rd consecutive playoff appearance with a 106-103 victory over the Suns on Wednesday night, clinching the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference With the win, Gregg Popovich tied Phil Jackson for the most regular-season wins by a head coach in NBA history (1,155).

San Antonio will take on the second-seeded Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. The Spurs went 1-3 against Denver this season, with their only win coming in early December.

The Suns, who were led by Devin Booker’s game-high 28 points, will miss the playoffs for the ninth straight season.

LaMarcus Aldridge leads Spurs past Mavericks

LaMarcus Aldridge had 28 points and 12 rebounds, and the San Antonio Spurs broke Gregg Popovich’s coaching wins record with a 103-89 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday Night

Popovich now has 1,128 career victories, passing Hall of Famer Larry Brown for the most by a coach with one team in NBA history Brown coached the Spurs for four seasons in the 1990s.

Popovich is in his 23rd season with the Spurs, and they’ve won five championships during his tenure. He’s also won Coach of the Year three times.

Spurs rout Rockets to clinch top seed in West

The San Antonio Spurs continue to put on a clinic in how to win games in the NBA, as they clinched the top seed in the Western Conference with a 103-92 victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.

With the win, Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich now has 1,128 career victories, surpassing Jerry Sloan for the most wins in NBA history It was a fitting tribute to one of the greatest coaches of all time, as his team put on a defensive masterpiece to stifle one of the best offenses in the league.

Kawhi Leonard led the way for the Spurs with 27 points and eight rebounds, while LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points and nine boards. James Harden paced the Rockets with 25 points and 10 assists, but it wasn’t enough as Houston fell to 0-3 against San Antonio this season.

Kawhi Leonard returns, leads Spurs past Pelicans

In his first game back from injury, Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs to a victory over the Pelicans with 28 points and 8 rebounds. With the win, Gregg Popovich broke the record for most wins by a Head coach in NBA history

Spurs stave off elimination, beat Thunder in Game 6

The San Antonio Spurs avoided elimination on Thursday night beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 112-98 in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series. With the victory, the Spurs staved off elimination and forced a seventh and final game in the series, which will be played on Saturday night in Oklahoma City

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich broke a tie with former L.A. Lakers head coach Pat Riley for the most wins in NBA history earning his 1,413th victory with the win over the Thunder. Popovich is now the winningest coach in NBA history and he has led the Spurs to five NBA Championships since taking over as head coach in 1996.

The Thunder led by as many as 15 points in the first half, but the Spurs rallied to take a slim lead at halftime. The two teams traded leads throughout the second half, but it was the Spurs who made the Big Shots down the stretch to earn the victory.

Kawhi Leonard led the way for the Spurs, scoring 34 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge added 21 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio while Russell Westbrook had 27 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists for Oklahoma City in a losing effort.

Spurs eliminated by Warriors in Game 5

The Warriors beat the Spurs 106-105 in Game 5 to take the series 4-1 and advance to the NBA Finals The Spurs Gregg Popovich became the NBA’s all-time leader in wins, passing Jerry Sloan.

Leonard, Spurs put up fight but fall to Cavs in Game 7

The Cleveland Cavaliers are NBA champions for the first time, and they did it in dramatic fashion. After squandering a 2-0 series lead and then a 3-1 advantage, the Cavs became the first team in NBA history to win a Finals series after trailing 3-1. They did it by winning games 5 and 7 on the road, becoming the first team to ever do that in a Finals series. And they did it by coming back from a 26-point deficit in Game 3 of the series, becoming the largest comeback in Finals history. In other words, it was an incredible achievement.

And yet, despite all of that, the story of this series will likely be remembered more for what happened off the court than on it. In Game 4, with his team down 2-1 in the series and facing elimination, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr made the decision to start rookie center Kevon Looney in place of veteran center Andrew Bogut. The move paid off as Looney played well and helped Golden State even the series at 2-2.

But after the game, Kerr was asked about his decision to start Looney and he made a comment that seemed to disrespect Bogut and his veteran leadership. Kerr said he wanted to go with “youth and athleticism” over “veteran experience.” Bogut is a key part of Golden State’s locker room and its community outreach efforts, and he took offense to Kerr’s remark.

The two men met to clear the air, but it was too late. The damage was done. And when Kerr doubled down on his comments by starting Looney again in Game 5 (a game Golden State would go on to lose), it became clear that he had lost trust in his veteran center.

It’s impossible to say whether or not things would have been different if Kerr had handled that situation differently. But what we do know is that Bogut played a significant role in helping Golden State win two championships in three years, and he deserved better than what Kerr gave him.

Five takeaways from the Spurs’ season

1. The Spurs are the best team in the Western Conference
2. Gregg Popovich is the best coach in NBA History
3. Kawhi Leonard is the best player on the Spurs.
4. LaMarcus Aldridge is a close second-best player on the Spurs.
5. The Spurs have a chance to win the NBA Finals

Where do the Spurs go from here?

It’s been a rough season for the Spurs. They’ve struggled with injuries, and they’ve struggled to find an identity without Kawhi Leonard However, despite all of that, they’ve still managed to stay afloat in the Western Conference standings. They’re currently the 6th seed, and they’re only 2.5 games behind the 3rd seed Houston Rockets So, where do the Spurs go from here?

The first thing they need to do is get healthy. Dejounte Murray Derrick White, and Rudy Gay have all missed significant time this season due to injuries. If the Spurs want to make a serious push for a playoff spot, they need all of their Key Players to be healthy.

Secondly, the Spurs need to find a way to score more points. They currently rank 27th in the NBA in points per game (101.4), and they simply can’t win games if they can’t put points on the board. LaMarcus Aldridge has been solid this season (19.2 points per game), but he can’t do it alone. The Spurs need someone else to step up and help him out offensively.

Lastly, the Spurs need to focus on winning games against teams in their own conference. They’ve done a good job of that so far this season (19-13 against conference opponents), but they need to continue that trend if they want to solidify their position in the standings.

The Spurs have their work cut out for them, but if they can take care of business on all three of these fronts, they should be in good shape moving forward.