Popovich now 4th on career victories list
Bryn Forbes had 24 points and 11 rebounds, both career highs, to lead the Spurs to a 111-86 victory against the Suns on Tuesday in San Antonio. LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points in 25 minutes.
It was career victory 1,211 for coach Gregg Popovich, moving him past Pat Riley into fourth on the all-time list. He remains behind Don Nelson (1,335), Lenny Wilkens (1,332) and Jerry Sloan (1,221).
♦ Sixers forward Jimmy Butler reportedly suffered no structural damage in his groin but is doubtful for the game against the Nets on Wednesday. He suffered the injury Monday against the Pistons. Butler has averaged 21.4 points since coming over to the Sixers in a trade with the Timberwolves last month. The Sixers are 10-3 with Butler.
♦ Cavaliers center Tristan Thompson (sprained left foot) could miss a month.
♦ Raptors coach Nick Nurse coached the team Tuesday in Los Angeles and plans to coach Wednesday at Golden State despite the death of his 94-year-old mother in Iowa.
Villanova suffers rare Big 5 loss
AJ Brodeur and Antonio Woods each scored 16 points as Penn (9-2) beat No. 17 Villanova 78-75 at the Palestra in Philadelphia for the Quakers’ first victory in the series since 2002. Villanova also had won a city-record 25 consecutive games against Big 5 rivals Temple, St. Joseph’s, La Salle and Penn. Collin Gillespie scored 21 points for Villanova (8-3), which plays at No. 1 Kansas on Saturday.
♦ Kansas State hired North Dakota State coach Chris Klieman to be its football coach.
♦ Utah State hired former Wisconsin coach Gary Anderson to be its football coach. He previously coached the Aggies from 2009-12.
♦ Boston College extended the contract of football coach Steve Addazio through 2022.
Fire untouched by draft
The Fire did not lose any players to FC Cincinnati in the 2018 expansion draft. Cincinnati will become the 24th MLS team when it joins for the 2019 season. The team will play at the University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium until its own stadium is finished in 2021. Expansion teams in Nashville and Miami are set to join in 2020.