Popovich. photo from nba.com
DETROIT — DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points, and Gregg Popovich moved another step higher on the NBA’s career wins list as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons 119-107 on Monday night (Tuesday morning Philippine time).
Popovich now has 1,221 victories. He’s tied with Jerry Sloan for third place, trailing only Don Nelson and Lenny Wilkens.
Popovich didn’t seem too happy early on against the Pistons. The Spurs called a timeout with 6:19 left in the first quarter, down 17-9. After a turnover led to a dunk by Detroit’s Andre Drummond, Popovich took another timeout, 14 seconds after the first one.
San Antonio appeared to get the message. A 23-2 run spanning parts of the first and second quarters put the Spurs up 45-33.
It was relatively smooth sailing from there for San Antonio, which led 59-51 at halftime and 84-73 after three quarters.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points for the Spurs. Blake Griffin scored 34 for Detroit, and Drummond added 19 points and 14 rebounds.
San Antonio was without forward Rudy Gay, out with a sprained left wrist, but the Spurs still won a season-high fifth straight game. Detroit has lost seven of nine.
It was the 518th road victory for Popovich, breaking a tie with Nelson for second on that career list. He’s now two behind leader Pat Riley.