Legendary 'Coach Pop' to oversee Wembanyama's NBA start

NEW YORK -- Victor Wembanyama's early NBA days will be overseen by one of the league's most legendary coaches, outspoken Gregg Popovich, who helped transform another French teen, Tony Parker, into a superstar.

Popovich, the 74-year-old son of a Serbian father and Croatian mother, is the longest-tenured coach in any major American sports league, having guided the Spurs since 1996.

With discipline and priorities formed while at the US Air Force Academy in the 1960s, Popovich has become a five-time NBA champion head coach, a three-time NBA Coach of the Year and in August will be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

"What makes a great coach is getting a lot of young men and helping them become men, adding to their life," said NBA guard Dwyane Wade. "Coach Pop has done an amazing job of helping young men become grown-ass men."

Golden State coach Steve Kerr, who won two NBA titles playing under Popovich, praised his impact.

"He's amazing," Kerr said. "There are just so many people like me whose lives have been impacted so dramatically and so positively by Pop. One of the most influential people ever in my life. I owe him so much."

Popovich mentored top draft pick Tim Duncan in 1997 and Parker when he came to the NBA in 2001.

"I loved playing for Pop," Parker said. "Pop was huge. I always trust Pop's judgment."

Popovich accepts the challenge of a new generation with Wembanyama, the most talented prospect since LeBron James with size like Duncan and Parker-esque skills.

"He has still got it. He can do this for a lot longer," said Kerr. "One of Pop's great abilities has been his willingness and eagerness to adapt.

"He really understood what was happening around the league with speed, pace and ball movement. He was ahead of the curve all the time."

The Spurs, who made the playoffs 22 straight years under Pop, have missed the playoffs for four seasons, going 20-62 this past campaign.

A grizzled, gritty and sometimes grumpy Popovich will try to teach Wembanyama to maximize his unique talents as he did with Parker.

"At one of (Parker's) first practices, I brought a few guys to get in his face," Popovich said. "I wanted to see what he had in the belly. I was impressed with him. So I told him, 'The ball is yours, find solutions, I'll love you and yell at you at the same time.'"

Popovich embraced global talent early, bringing more than 40 players from beyond US borders onto the Spurs roster, and made Becky Hammon the NBA's first female assistant coach.

Popovich passed Lenny Wilkens to become the NBA's all-time winningest coach in 2019 with his 1,413th career triumph in playoff and regular-season games.

In 2022, he won an NBA record 1,336th regular-season game, accepting the feat with sarcasm.

"What I could do in my retirement, what kind of wine I could drink, all these things become bland when I think about the number of victories I have," Popovich deadpanned.

Humor is one of the ways Popovich measures people, saying in 2015 that those "who don't appreciate funny moments won't be able to give their all for a group."

- Social justice champion -

Popovich, a noted wine collector, is also outspoken on social justice.

Popovich spoke out about reparations for Black people in 2020, saying protests helped "get all the way to the reparations discussion and not just wait for legislation and laws."

Last July, Popovich ripped "rampant" US racism, saying, "I had no idea it was to this level... it pisses me off, it hurts me, it confounds me."

After 21 people were killed in a Texas elementary school shooting, Popovich railed against officials sending "thoughts and prayers" without changing gun laws.

"They're the same statements after every massacre," he said. "They think we're stupid so they'll keep bringing it up, but they'll listen to us if we're angry enough and we're committed enough."

Agence France-Presse

Nowitzki, Gasol, Parker head star-studded Hall of Fame class

LOS ANGELES -- Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Tony Parker, Dwyane Wade and San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will be ushered into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame later this year, the organization confirmed on Saturday.

The star-studded class of 2023, who will be enshrined at a ceremony in August, also include trailblazing WNBA player and coach Becky Hammon, the Hall of Fame announced.

German star Nowitzki, former Los Angeles Lakers Spanish ace Gasol and France's Parker are three of the most successful international stars ever to grace the NBA.

Parker won four NBA championships during the Spurs' dominant reign between 2003 and 2014, while Gasol was a key part of the Lakers team that won back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010.

Nowitzki, who is sixth on the NBA's all-time scoring list with 31,560 points, was named NBA Most Valuable Player in 2007 and Finals MVP four years later after helping the Dallas Mavericks win the title.

Reacting to Saturday's announcement, Nowitzki paid tribute to international players who had paved the way for his generation in the NBA.

"I think there were a few guys who blazed the way for us a little bit," Nowitzki said. "And then the next wave came with Pau, Tony and myself. And if we help to make the game truly global and help some kids along the way that's obviously truly humbling for all of us."

Barcelona-born Gasol, meanwhile, recalled how watching the US 'Dream Team' at the 1992 Olympics staged in his hometown had helped inspire his basketball journey.

"I always had in mind the effect that the 'Dream Team '92' had on my life and how basketball and sports can affect and inspire kids' lives, so I just wanted to do that," Gasol told ESPN.

The 6ft 2in (1.88m) tall Parker reflected how people had doubted his ability to be successful in the NBA due to his height.

"Growing up the NBA dream was very far away," Parker said.

"When I was telling people my dream they were all laughing at me saying 'You're too small, you're too skinny, you will never make it in the NBA'. Now I'm the one laughing."

Wade was a three-time NBA champion with the Miami Heat in 2006, 2012 and 2013 and won finals MVP in 2006.

The 41-year-old, who retired from the NBA in 2019, also won Olympic gold with the United States in the 2008 Beijing Games.

The 74-year-old Popovich, meanwhile, is one of the NBA's elder statesmen, one of only five NBA coaches in history to have won five championships.

- 'Out of body experience' -

Popovich also led the United States to gold in the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

"Those of us who've ended up in this position -- it's incredible," Popovich said in a recorded message on ESPN on Saturday.

"It's an honor, and something that one does not think about when going through your years in this game. It's an awesome thought to think about all the players that I've had the honor to coach, who are the ones who won the games.

"I sit here amongst people who I've always been in awe of myself. So to be in this situation is kind of an out of body experience."

Nowitzki, Wade, Parker, Gasol and Popovich are all being inducted into the basketball pantheon at the first attempt, a rarity under the Hall of Fame's eligibility rules which reflects their stellar achievements in the sport.

Joining Popovich in the Hall of Fame will be former assistant Hammon.

Hammon is a six-time All-Star and coached the Las Vegas Aces to the WNBA Finals crown in 2022. The 46-year-old was also Popovich's assistant coach in San Antonio from 2014 -- the first woman assistant coach in the NBA.

She remains the only woman to take charge of an NBA team during a regular season game after stepping in when Popovich was ejected during a clash with the Lakers in 2020.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Popovich rips 'deranged' Trump for lack of leadership

Enraged San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sharply criticized the lack of leadership shown by President Donald Trump and called him a coward in the wake of week-long protests surrounding the death of George Floyd.

Popovich told The Nation that Trump is "deranged" and incapable of saying "black lives matter" at a time when the nation desperately needs to hear those words from the leader of the country.

"It's unbelievable. If Trump had a brain, even if it was 99 percent cynical, he would come out and say something to unify people," Popovich told reporter Dave Zirin. 

"But he doesn't care about bringing people together. Even now. That's how deranged he is. It's all about him. It's all about what benefits him personally. It's never about the greater good. And that's all he's ever been."

Nationwide protests and demonstrations have erupted since Floyd, a black man, died in Minneapolis on May 25 while white police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for several minutes.

Popovich, a staunch critic of Trump, views the president as a detriment to the country.

"He's not just divisive. He's a destroyer. To be in his presence makes you die," Popovich told The Nation sports editor Dave Zirin. "He will eat you alive for his own purposes. I'm appalled that we have a leader who can't say 'black lives matter.' That's why he hides in the White House basement. He is a coward.

"He creates a situation and runs away like a grade-schooler. Actually, I think it's best to ignore him. There is nothing he can do to make this better because of who he is: a deranged idiot."

Popovich, who has won five NBA titles with the Spurs and ranks third all-time with 1,272 regular-season victories, said Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are failing at leadership.

"It's so clear what needs to be done. We need a president to come out and say simply that 'black lives matter,'" Popovich said. 

"Just say those three words. But he won't and he can't. He can't because it's more important to him to mollify the small group of followers who validate his insanity. But it's more than just Trump. The system has to change. I'll do whatever I can do to help, because that's what leaders do. But he can't do anything to put us on a positive path, because he's not a leader.

"It's like what (Senators) Lindsay Graham and Ted Cruz used to say when they had the courage to say it: He's unfit. But they have chosen instead to be invisible and obsequious in the face of this carnage. In the end, what we have is a fool in place of a president, while the person who really runs the country, Senator Mitch McConnell, destroys the United States for generations to come.

"McConnell has destroyed and degraded our judicial system. He has tried to destroy heath care. He's destroyed the environment. He's the master and Trump's the stooge, and what's funny is that Trump doesn't even know it. Trump's always wanted to be part of the in-group, but McConnell is an in-group of one and Trump plays the fool."

As for the protests surrounding Floyd's death, Popovich said those are needed but he would like to see better organization.

"It's frustrating. When Dr. (Martin Luther) King did a protest, you knew when to show, when to come back the next day. But if you're just organizing protests and everyone is coming and going in every direction, it doesn't work that way. If it was nonviolent, they knew to be nonviolent, but this is muddled.

"More leadership would be very welcome so these incredible mass demonstrations can't be used by people for other means. We can limit the bad, but only if things are organized better."

The whole situation is frustrating to Popovich.

"We need change. The system has to change. I'm willing to do my part."

-reuters-

Trump criticizes Kerr, Popovich for China reactions

US President Donald Trump strode into the NBA's China morass on Wednesday, denouncing the reaction of Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr and San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to the controversy.

The NBA is dealing with harsh reaction from its Chinese business partners to a since-deleted tweet from Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey related to protests in Hong Kong. The league subsequently apologized for the backlash to Morey's tweet but backed his ability to take a stand on the issue without speaking for the team.

Kerr and Popovich, both vocal critics of Trump's policies in the past, were asked in recent days for their response to the issue.

"He was like a little boy, he was so scared. ... He was shaking," Trump said of Kerr's reply. "He was shaking, 'Oh, I don't know' ... he didn't know how to answer the question, and yet he'll talk about the United States very badly."

On Monday, Kerr had said he didn't have a reaction to the NBA-China situation, adding, "It's a really bizarre international story, and a lot of us don't know what to make of it. So it's something I'm reading about just like everybody is, but I'm not going to comment further than that."

Popovich had praised NBA commissioner Adam Silver's response to the Morey tweet without specifically taking a stand on the issue.

Trump commented Wednesday, "I watched Popovich, sort of the same thing, but he didn't look quite as scared, actually. But they talk badly about the United States -- but when (they) talk about China, they don't want to say anything bad."

Warriors guard Stephen Curry, another longtime Trump critic, said Wednesday at the team's practice, "I just heard about the Trump thing. I gotta welcome Steve to the club."

In 2017, after Curry had announced that he would be opposed to the then-NBA champion Warriors celebrating their title at the White House, Trump tweeted, "Going to the White House is considered a great honor for a championship team. Stephen Curry is hesitating, therefore invitation is withdrawn!"

--Field Level Media

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Durant, Warriors cruise past Spurs for 3-0 lead

Kevin Durant scored a game-high 26 points Thursday night as the Golden State Warriors moved within one game of a first-round playoff sweep of the San Antonio Spurs with a 110-97 victory in San Antonio.

The second-seeded Warriors can advance to the Western Conference semifinals with a victory in Game 4 at San Antonio on Sunday afternoon.

No team has ever rebounded from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series.

The only negatives for Golden State were Durant rolling his left ankle and guard Shaun Livingston turning his right ankle in the fourth quarter. Durant left the game for good with the Warriors ahead by 15 points.

Afterward, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said, "Both sprained ankles, but I think they'll be all right."

The Spurs played Game 3 without coach Gregg Popovich, whose wife, Erin, died Wednesday. Assistant coach Ettore Messina filled in for Popovich.

Golden State put itself in a commanding position in the series by gradually pulling away from the seventh-seeded Spurs, who had the third-best home record in the NBA during the regular season.

Five Golden State players, including Durant, bombed in 3-pointers in the third quarter, as the Warriors turned a 58-56 advantage into an 84-68 margin late in the period.

Durant hit nine of his 17 shots to help Golden State outshoot the Spurs 51.2 percent to 42.5 percent from the floor.

Durant also collected a team-high nine rebounds and handed out six assists.

Klay Thompson contributed 19 points, Livingston 16 and Quinn Cook 12 for Golden State, while Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala added 10 apiece.

Green had a game-high seven assists to go with six rebounds and four blocked shots for the Warriors, who have won at least one road game in their past 17 playoff series.

The win was the Warriors' 11th in their past 12 meetings with the Spurs, and also was the 50th for Kerr in 65 playoff games. He became the fastest in NBA history to reach the milestone.

LaMarcus Aldridge posted an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Spurs, who lost in the first round of the playoffs just four times in their previous 20 visits.

Tony Parker had 16 points, Patty Mills 14 and Rudy Gay 11 for San Antonio, which shot just 7-for-33 (21.2 percent) from 3-point range.

--Field Level Media

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Klay Thompson spurs Warriors to victory against San Antonio

Klay Thompson scored 27 points as the Golden State Warriors recovered from an early mauling to score a 112-92 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday.

A stormy encounter between the two Western Conference big guns saw Warriors coach Steve Kerr lose his cool on the sidelines before Spurs counterpart Gregg Popovich was ejected late in the game.

Popovich was tossed in the fourth quarter after picking up a second technical foul following an altercation with a member of the officiating crew.

Courtside microphones picked up Popovich swearing at the referee before he was given his marching orders.

Kerr also risked ejection in the first quarter, and needed to be held back by assistant Mike Brown after he was handed a technical foul.

The tirade by the Warriors coach came as the Spurs jumped out to a 28-12 first quarter lead.

The reigning NBA champions gradually began chipping away at the deficit and had closed the gap to 34-24 by the end of the first quarter.

Thompson's 27-point haul led the scoring for the Warriors, with three rebounds and two assists.

Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry also weighed in with 20-point hauls as the Warriors improved to 6-3 and climbed to third in the Western Conference.

Durant scored 24 points with eight rebounds while Curry had 21 points. Draymond Green also cracked double digits with 16 points.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the scoring for San Antonio with 24 points and 10 rebounds while Kyle Anderson added 16 points.

Spanish veteran Pau Gasol was the only other Spurs player to reach double figures, with 11 points. The defeat saw San Antonio fall to 10th with a 4-4 record.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Spurs coach Popovich pops off at 'racist' Trump

CLEVELAND -- San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich took aim at Donald Trump Saturday, devoting nearly half of his pre-game news conference to describing his contempt for the newly sworn-in American President.

Popovich called Trump a bully who spends more time attacking his critics than trying to bring the country together by ending the racial and political polarization in the United States.

"It does boggle the mind how somebody can be so thin-skinned," Popovich said. "It's all obvious -- it's about him .... It doesn't matter what it is, there's a pattern there. And that's dangerous.

"I'd like to have someone with gravitas, but he got there through the Electoral College, which is part of our system, and I hope he does some good things."

Popovich was speaking on a day that more than one million people protested Trump's presidency by marching in North America and across the world at a series of women's rallies.

"The march today was great," Popovich said. "That message is important and it could have been a whole lot of groups marching. And somebody said on TV, 'What's their message?' Well, their message is obvious.

"That is our president comes in with the lowest rating of anybody who ever came into the office.

"And there's a majority of people out there, since Hillary (Clinton) won the popular vote, that don't buy his act.

"And I just wish that he was more mature enough to do something that really is inclusive rather than just talking and saying, 'I'm going to include everybody.'

"He could talk to the groups that he disrespected and maligned during the primary and really make somebody believe it. But so far, we've got to a point where you really can't believe anything that comes out of his mouth."

Popovich said he worries about the effect a Trump presidency will have on young Americans.

"I hope he does a great job, but there's a difference between respecting the office of the presidency and who occupies it.

"And that respect has to be earned. But it's hard to be respectful of someone when we all have kids and we're watching him be misogynistic and xenophobic and racist and make fun of handicapped people."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Aldridge leads short-handed Spurs over Suns

LOS ANGELES -- With San Antonio's leading scorer Kawhi Leonard sidelined by illness, LaMarcus Aldridge stepped up with 27 points on Wednesday to lead the Spurs to a 119-98 NBA victory over the Phoenix Suns.

Leonard missed his first game of the season with a stomach bug.

"He just couldn't keep anything down today, so he stayed home," coach Gregg Popovich said.

In his absence, Aldridge hit 10 of his 12 shots from the floor, following up a 33-point performance in a win over Chicago on Sunday with another outstanding effort.

"When LaMarcus plays aggressive like that we are a better team -- he's in attack mode, and he's looking for his teammates and tonight Phoenix couldn't guard him," said veteran Spurs point guard Tony Parker, who matched his season high with 20 points.

Pau Gasol added 16 points and 10 rebounds and and David Lee came off the bench to score 12 points apiece for the Spurs, who beat the Suns by 15 points earlier this month but found themselves trailing, 64-58, at halftime.

The Suns got off to an explosive start, connecting on 68.8 percent from the floor in the first quarter but they still trailed, 30-27, after the period as nine turnovers led to 13 points for San Antonio.

A 9-2 scoring run in the second quarter saw the Suns take the lead, but the Spurs got the young Phoenix squad's measure in after the interval.

"We did a lot better in the second half," Parker said. "Our energy was better and we tried to create turnovers and play more physical on the defensive end."

The Suns, led by reserve guard TJ Warren's 23 points, coughed up 22 turnovers -- the most for a San Antonio opponent this year.

"We played a great first half -- we played aggressive on the ball and got some deflections on defense," Suns coach Earl Watson said. "Things reversed in the second half. We are a young group trying to establish a culture and that can't be done overnight.

"We have to be a defensive team all four quarters and keep our focus. Turnovers hurt us, but with a young team, turnovers are going to happen."

The Spurs out-scored Phoenix, 61-34, in the second half, their focus sharpening as the Suns' waned.

"The whole game for us was picking up the intensity in defensive pressure in the third and fourth quarters," Popovich said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Spurs remain unbeaten on the road

WASHINGTON -- LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points as the San Antonio Spurs kept their undefeated record on the road intact by beating the Washington Wizards 112-100 on Saturday.

San Antonio also played Friday night but the back-to-back NBA games didn't faze them as they improved to 10-0 on the road and won their eighth straight overall.

Asked for what has impressed him most during the winning streak, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said, "The fact that a lot of the new guys have caught on so quickly.

"Kyle Anderson and Jon Simmons haven't played much before. David Lee, Davis Bertans, and Dewayne Dedmon and Pau (Gasol) just all got here, so they've blended in very well pretty quickly. It was surprising."

Tony Parker had 20 points and Kawhi Leonard scored 19 for the Spurs (14-3), who shot 53.3 percent from the field before a crowd of 17,066 at Verizon Center arena.

Simmons scored 15 points and Patty Mills 13 as San Antonio's reserves outscored Washington's 35-18.

The Spurs also outscored Washington 23-10 from the free throw line and led by 19 points in the second half.

Bradley Beal finished with 25 points and John Wall added 21 for the Wizards who have won a season-high two straight. Otto Porter tallied 14 points as Washington dropped to 5-10 on the season.

"It's tough, but we knew that coming in," Beal said of facing the Spurs. "That's not an excuse for us not to compete and us not to go out and try to win a game, but you have to give credit where it's due."

The Wizards beat the Orlando Magic 94-91 on Friday for its first road victory of the season.

Parker scored 11 points and the Spurs shot 50 percent from the field for a 54-44 lead at the intermission.

After Washington closed to 69-62 midway through the third quarter, San Antonio seized command with a 16-7 surge during which Aldridge and Mills each sank a three-pointer and scored five points.

The Wizards looked undisciplined at times, losing Markieff Morris in the third quarter when the starting forward was ejected after arguing with the officials over a foul call. Morris had 12 points in 19 minutes.

Ian Mahinmi, who was acquired in the offseason, made his season debut for the Wizards after missing the first 14 games due to knee surgery. His impact was limited though as he finished with one point in 15 minutes of playing time.

- Westbrook posts triple-double -

In Oklahoma, Russell Westbrook posted his seventh triple-double of the season as he powered the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 106-88 win over the Detroit Pistons.

Westbrook posted 17 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds to earn back-to-back triple-doubles on consecutive nights.

It was also his 44th career triple-double, which ties him with Cleveland's LeBron James.

The Thunder had five players score in double figures. Anthony Morrow came off the Thunder bench and poured in a season-high 21 points. Steven Adams added 16 points and nine rebounds. Victor Oladipo scored 18 as Oklahoma City improved to 10-8.

Tobias Harris led the Pistons with 21 points on eight of 18 shooting. Ish Smith, who once played for the Thunder, posted 14 points and three assists.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, Kemba Walker scored 28 points, and Jeremy Lamb had 18 points and 17 rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets snapped a four-game losing streak with a 107-102 win over the New York Knicks.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Spurs rally past Celtics to maintain streaks

BOSTON - Kawhi Leonard scored nine points in the final 7:17 as San Antonio kept rolling with a spirited 109-103 win on Friday over the Boston Celtics that extended three winning streaks.

LaMarcus Aldridge clinched the Spurs come-from-behind victory with an offensive rebound and two free throws with 17 seconds remaining.

"It was a great win for us against the really active team," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

The Spurs, who trailed by 14 points in the first half, improved to 13-3 on the season in front of a crowd of 18,600 at the Boston Garden arena.

San Antonio rallied for their eighth straight NBA win overall, their ninth in as many games on the road this season, and also beat Boston for the 10th straight time.

Leonard, who finished with 25 points, 10 rebounds and four assists, scored nine points in the fourth quarter.

Patty Mills tallied a season-best 19 points and rookie Davis Bertans and veteran David Lee added 15 points apiece.

That marked a career high for Bertans and season high for Lee, who also grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds.

Starters Danny Green and Aldridge scored 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Isaiah Thomas finished with 24 points and eight assists while Avery Bradley had 19 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Al Horford added 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks while Marcus Smart came off the bench to score nine points.

"I felt like we fought really hard all night," said Horford. "I think the stat sheets say their bench was the difference. They did a great job."

The Celtics used an 18-2 first-quarter run to grab a 24-10 lead.

Boston, coming off a three-game road trip, then went 5:51 without a point in the second quarter as San Antonio used a 12-0 burst to get back in the game.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Warriors, Spurs remain perfect at home

LOS ANGELES -- The Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs needed dominant fourth quarters on Saturday to keep their impressive NBA home winning streaks alive.

Spurs guard Danny Green was an unlikely catalyst in San Antonio, where the Spurs trailed by two going into the final period but emerged with a 93-85 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Green had missed all eight of his shots before draining a go-ahead three-pointer with 7:19 left to play that ignited the Spurs' finishing burst.

"(Green's) a pro and we made it clear to him there's only two outcomes -- it goes in or it doesn't," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "He still gets his paycheck. His family still loves him, so screw it, let 'em fly -- and he did."

The Spurs improved to 32-0 at home this season and have won 41 in a row dating back to last season.

In Oakland, California, the Warriors stretched their NBA record home winning streak to 48 with their 30th home win of this season, 123-116 over the struggling Phoenix Suns.

But they, too, had to rally in the fourth, overcoming a nine-point deficit after three quarters with the aid of a 14-0 fourth-quarter scoring run.

Superstar sharp-shooter Stephen Curry, who missed most of the third quarter because of foul trouble, returned to score 15 points in the final frame.

Golden State trailed 108-105 before Curry launched the decisive run with a game-tying three-pointer with 5:36 remaining.

The Suns missed their next six shots as the Warriors got a dunk by reserve center Marreese Speights, a dunk by Harrison Barnes and another three-pointer from Curry that gave the Warriors a 115-108 lead with 3:31 to play.

Draymond Green stretched the lead to nine with a driving basket and Curry made two free-throws to cap the 14-0 run.

Curry scored a game-high 35 points, making seven of 16 three-point attempts and handing out six assists.

Speights added 25 points, Klay Thompson scored 20 and Green 19 for the Warriors, who were without NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Andre Iguodala because of a sprained left ankle.

Brandon Knight led the Suns with 30 points, but Phoenix endured their third straight defeat and fell to 17-49, next-to-last in the Western Conference ahead of the lowly Los Angeles Lakers.

The Spurs, meanwhile, were up against a tough Oklahoma City team lying third in the West and trying to close the gap on second-placed San Antonio.

Instead the Thunder lost their second straight, and their fourth of six on the road.

Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points and LaMarcus Aldridge added 24 for the Spurs and the Thunder went the final 3:53 without a field goal and missed nine of their last 10 shots.

"San Antonio is the best defensive team in the league, and we generated a lot of good looks tonight," said Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, who led all scorers with 28 points.

"San Antonio hit some big shots in the fourth quarter -- especially Green's shot from the corner -- but we made them work for everything they got."

Nuggets rally past Wizards

In Denver the Nuggets' second-half rally included out-scoring Washington 41-17 in the fourth quarter en route to a 116-100 victory over the Wizards.

Nuggets reserves scored 75 points as Denver extended their winning streak to a season-best four games, dealing the Wizards' playoff hopes another blow.

Washington, who led 72-62 late in the third quarter, are now three and a half games behind Detroit for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

"This leaves us in a really bad position," said Washington's John Wall. "We just keep digging ourselves a bigger hole with 17 games left."

Hornets down Rockets

The Charlotte Hornets notched their seventh straight victory, routing the Houston Rockets 125-109.

Kemba Walker scored 26 points and Marvin Williams added 25 for the Hornets, who saw a 19-point first-half lead dwindle to two in the third quarter before they rebuilt the advantage with a 17-2 scoring run.

"We just get better as the game goes on," Walker said. "We just got locked in."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Popovich agrees to contract extension with Spurs

Gregg Popovich, one of only five coaches to have won at least five National Basketball Association (NBA) championships, has agreed to a multi-year contract extension with the San Antonio Spurs, the team said on Wednesday.

The 65-year-old, widely known for his wry sense of humor and nicknamed "Coach Pop" or just "Pop", guided the Spurs to their fifth NBA title last month when they beat the two-time defending champion Miami Heat 4-1 in the best-of-seven finals.

As per club policy terms of the contract were not disclosed, the Spurs said in a brief statement.

Popovich, who took charge of the Spurs in 1996 and has become the longest serving active coach in the league, was in April voted NBA Coach of the Year for a third time.

He had led San Antonio to a league-best record of 62-20 during the 2013-14 regular season before they relentlessly advanced through the playoffs.

The Spurs have been a model of consistency under Popovich and, with veteran forward Tim Duncan and guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobil pivotal figures over the past decade, he has established a 1,116-533 career record, including the playoffs.

Popovich won NBA titles with the Spurs in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014 to emulate Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, Pat Riley and John Kundla as the only coaches to have claimed at least five.

(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Frank Pingue)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Duncan, Popovich likely to return to Spurs next season

Signs point to power forward Tim Duncan and coach Gregg Popovich returning to the San Antonio Spurs next season.

Speculation during the playoffs has centered around whether the two would be back should they win a fifth NBA title. ESPN reported that the 38-year-old Duncan has a June 24 deadline to opt in to his contract next season.

- -

LeBron James will not let winning or losing the NBA Finals dictate his decision on whether to opt in to the final year of his contract with the Miami Heat, according to a report.

James and the Heat are facing elimination, trailing 3-1 with the best-of-seven series returning to San Antonio for Game 5 on Sunday. No team has come back from a similar deficit in the Finals.

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Through four games, the 2014 NBA Finals are averaging 14,931,000 viewers per game, up compared to last year's Finals between the same teams, according to Nielsen.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Spurs rout Mavs to set up clash with Trail Blazers

SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs ended a hard-fought first-round series in emphatic style Sunday, routing the Dallas Mavericks 119-96 to advance in the NBA playoffs.

The Spurs, top seeds in the Western Conference, were pushed to a decisive seventh game by the eighth-seeded Mavs, but with their season on the line responded with the runaway win that gave them a four-games-to-three triumph in the first-round series.

"I think our best game was tonight," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of his team that had led the league in the regular season with 62 victories.

"We played very, very well, and I think it was one our best games of the year."

Tony Parker scored 24 of his 32 points in a first half, when San Antonio connected on a sizzling 68.4 percent of their shots from the field to build a comfortable cushion.

"We have a lot of respect for Dallas, they're a great team," Parker said. "They made it very hard on us. The whole series it was a hard fight."

Manu Ginobili finished with 20 points, five assists and six steals and Danny Green added 16 points for the Spurs, who will host the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday in game one of their second-round series.

"I think our movement was good today and I think we're getting back to playing Spurs basketball," Parker said. "We're going to need it against Portland, they're a very good team."

The Mavericks were trying to become just the sixth number eight seed to knock off a top seed.

But on Sunday they struggled offensively, with Dirk Nowitzki's 22 points leading the way and Devin Harris contributing 17 points off the bench.

Monta Ellis, who had averaged 24 points over the previous five games, contributed only 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting.

Nowitzki opened the scoring with a jump shot, but San Antonio promptly won 18 of the next 23 points and never looked back.

Dallas, who trailed 46-68 at halftime, opened the second half with back-to-back three-pointers.

The Mavericks cut the lead to 14 late in the third quarter, but San Antonio closed out the period on a 14-5 scoring run.

"We got hit by a tidal wave early," said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle. "They had their best game today. They're the best of the best, and they've been great for a long time. They've got a great chance, obviously."

The Mavericks haven't made it out of the first round since beating the Miami Heat for the NBA crown three years ago.

The game was the last of a record five game sevens in the opening round of the playoffs.

The total already matches the NBA record for the most seventh games in all rounds in any playoff year.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com