Spurs’ Hammon first woman to direct NBA team
SAN ANTONIO » Becky Hammon became the first woman to direct a team in NBA history, taking over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Lakers following Gregg Popovich’s ejection in the first half.
Popovich was ejected by official Tony Brown with 3:56 remaining in the second quarter. Popovich screamed at Brown and entered the court following a non-call on DeMar DeRozan’s attempted layup and a subsequent attempted rebound by Drew Eubanks. Popovich was applauded as he exited the court by several of the team’s family members that were in attendance at the AT&T Center.
Hammon took over the team’s huddles during timeouts and walked the sideline following Popovich’s ejection. Hammon was the first fulltime female assistant coach in league history.
Tim Duncan took over last season when Popovich was ejected against Portland on Nov. 16, 2019. The Hall of Famer opted not to return as assistant this season.
HEAT 119, BUCKS 108 » Miami engineered a 58-point turnaround against Milwaukee in 24 hours.
And just like that, an embarrassing loss was avenged.
Goran Dragic scored 26 points, Bam Adebayo finished with 22 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds and the Heat beat the Bucks —-a day after Milwaukee made an NBA-record 29 3-pointers on the way to a 47-point romp on Miami’s home floor.
Tyler Herro had 21 points and grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds for Miami, which trailed by 14 early in the second half and rallied to get a split of the two-game, two-night series against the team that finished with the NBA’s best record in each of the past two regular seasons.
Giannis Antetokounmpo had a triple-double — 26 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists — for the Bucks. CELTICS 126, GRIZZLIES 107» Jaylen Brown scored 18 of his 42 points in the second quarter and Boston pulled away to its 10th straight victory over Memphis.
Brown matched his career best of 34 points with three minutes left in the third and tied a career-high with seven 3-pointers made. Jayson Tatum scored 16 points, and Marcus Smart had 14.
Hours after announcing they will be without leading scorer and reigning Rookie of the Year Ja Morant for three to five weeks because of a sprained ankle, the Grizzlies lost for the third time in four games.
NETS 135, HAWKS 141 » Kyrie Irving shook off three rough quarters to score 17 of his 25 points in the fourth, Kevin Durant had 33 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and Brooklyn handed Atlanta its first loss.
In the opener of a two-game series between the teams Irving couldn’t get into the act. He was just 3 for 16 from the field and getting badly outplayed by point guard counterpart Trae Young. But he made three 3-pointers in the final period after missing all seven through three as the Nets rallied to win.