SAN ANTONIO (AP) – Gregg Popovich has the most wins for coaches 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.
Popovich broke a tie with Don Nelson, the friend and mentor he served as an assistant under while with Golden State for two seasons beginning in 1992.
The milestone came in the 73-year-old Popovich’s 2,030th game and 26th season with the Spurs, the only franchise he has served as head coach for. Unsurprisingly, the evening was met with zero fanfare.
Popovich has won five NBA championships, 13 division titles and was recently named one of the 15 greatest coaches in league history. He has coached NBA 75th Anniversary Team members David Robinson and Tim Duncan, future Hall of Fame members Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker as well as journeymen who found careers in San Antonio such as Danny Green and current NBA coaches Steve Kerr, Monty Williams, Ime Udoka and Doc Rivers.
Dejounte Murray, who has emerged as the team’s newest star, had 27 points and nine rebounds to lead the Spurs. Murray made two free throws with 4.8 seconds and 1 of 2 with a second remaining to seal the victory.
Donovan Mitchell had 24 points for Utah.
LAKERS 122, WIZARDS 109
LeBron James scored 50 points for the 15th time in his career and helped rally Los Angeles past Washington.
The 37-year old superstar became the oldest player to have multiple 50-point games in a season. Bernard King was the previous oldest to do it at 34 in 1990-91 with Washington.
Malik Monk scored 21 points and Talen Horton-Tucker added 15 for the Lakers.
Kyle Kuzma, who played for the Lakers for four seasons, led Washington with 23 points and rookie Corey Kispert scored a career-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers.
RAPTORS 117, SUNS 112
Gary Trent Jr scored 42 points and Toronto held off NBA-leading Phoenix.
Trent was 8 from 11 from 3-point range and 13 of 21 from the floor. He fell just short of his career high of 44 points set last season. He also had eight rebounds.
Pascal Siakam added 25 points and 10 assists for the Raptors.
Cameron Payne had 24 points for the Suns, and Devin Booker had 22. Booker missed two 3-point attempts in the final minute and was held to three points in the fourth quarter.
GRIZZLIES 118, KNICKS 114
Ja Morant keyed a fourth-quarter rally by scoring 15 of his 37 points in the period to lead Memphis past New York.
Ziaire Williams and Jaren Jackson Jr each finished with 13 points, with Jackson adding five blocks as part of a season-high 16 for Memphis.
Julius Randle led the Knicks with 36 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, and RJ Barrett had 23 points.
CELTICS 114, PISTONS 103
Jayson Tatum had 31 points and eight rebounds, Jaylen Brown added 22 points and eight rebounds and Boston beat Detroit for its fifth victory in a row.
Marcus Smart added 20 points, and Robert Williams III had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics. They have won 18 of 21 since a Jan. 21 loss dropped them a game below .500.
Cade Cunningham had 27 points and eight rebounds for the Central Division-trailing Pistons, who had won three in a row before falling on Wednesday night to Chicago. Marvin Bagley III had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Jerami Grant also scored 20 points.
HEAT 117, CAVALIERS 105
Bam Adebayo had 30 points and 17 rebounds, Jimmy Butler added 24 points and a pair of big third-quarter runs helped Miami beat Cleveland.
Tyler Herro scored 22 points, and Max Strus finished with 17 points for the Heat, who improved to 16-7 in games following a loss. The Heat had a 13-0 run early in the third to open up an eight-point lead, then had 11-0 run later in the quarter to build what was an 84-67 lead.
Adebayo was 11 for 16 from the field, 8 for 8 from the line.
Darius Garland had 24 points and 10 assists for Cleveland.
MAVERICKS 113, ROCKETS 100
Luka Doncic scored 30 points, Dwight Powell had 26 and the Dallas Mavericks built a big lead and coasted past Houston.
Spencer Dinwiddie added 16 points and seven assists to help the Mavericks win for the sixth time in seven games and move to a season-high-tying 15 games above .500 at 41-26.
Doncic had 14 rebounds and Powell had 13 as the Mavericks outrebounded Houston 47-39.
Kevin Porter Jr and Josh Christopher each had 17 points for Houston.
HAWKS 112, CLIPPERS 106
Trae Young scored 27 points to lead six Atlanta scorers in double figures and the Hawks held off Los Angeles.
With the game tied at 82 late in the third quarter, Clippers forward Marcus Morris Sr was ejected after drawing two technical fouls for objecting when called for travelling. Young’s free throw gave Atlanta the lead. Danilo Gallinari followed with a 3-pointer and the Clippers led the rest of the way.
Ivica Zubac had 24 points and 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, and Reggie Jackson also scored 24 points.
HORNETS 142, PELICANS 120
Miles Bridges had 27 points and nine assists, Terry Rozier highlighted his 27-point performance with seven 3-pointers and Charlotte routed undermanned New Orleans.
LaMelo Ball had 17 points, nine assists and three steals for Charlotte, which hit 22 3s (on 47 attempts) and shot 59.8 per cent overall (52 of 87) to snap a two-game skid while sending New Orleans to its fourth straight loss.
Trey Murphy III, the Pelicans’ first-round pick last summer, hit seven 3s and set his new game-high in points with 32 to go with a career-high nine rebounds.
