Popovich ties Riley for career road wins
SAN ANTONIO 116 MINNESOTA 113
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points, Rudy Gay added 22 and the Spurs held on to give coach Gregg Popovich another milestone victory in a road win against the Timberwolves.
The win was the 520th on the road in Popovich’s career, tying him with Pat Riley for the most in NBA history.
It also continued San Antonio’s mastery of Minnesota. The Spurs have won 16 of the last 18 games between the teams. San Antonio is 59-25 in the series since Popovich took over as coach for the 1996-97 season.
“We got through some stuff and it’s always good to win on the road,” Popovich said. “It’s always difficult to do, but when you do it feels pretty good.”
at Detroit 98, Miami 93:
Blake Griffin had 32 points and 11 rebounds, and the Pistons overcame an early exit by injured Andre Drummond to beat the Heat. Dwyane Wade scored 20 points for the Heat but missed badly on an off-balance three-pointer in the final seconds that could have tied the score.
Brooklyn 117, at Orlando 115:
D’Angelo Russell matched his career high with 40 points and the Nets overcame a 21-point deficit to beat the Magic. Russell’s three-pointer with 27.1 seconds left put the Nets up for the first time since they led 2-0. After missed free throws by both teams left Brooklyn with a two-point lead, Evan Fournier missed a shot in the lane that would have tied it for Orlando.
at Boston 122, Memphis 116:
Kyrie Irving scored 20 of his 38 points in the third quarter and the Celtics held off the Grizzlies. Irving also had 11 assists and seven rebounds to help Boston win its second straight after dropping three in a row.
at Utah 115, Cleveland 99:
Donovan Mitchell scored 24 points, Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 15 rebounds and the Jazz beat the Cavaliers for their sixth straight win and eighth in nine games.
at Portland 128, New Orleans 112:
Damian Lillard scored 24 points, CJ McCollum had 20 and Jusuf Nurkic had 12 rebounds as the Trail Blazers took a 16-point halftime lead over the Pelicans and never trailed. Portland is 7-3 this month.
Golden State 112, at Clippers 94