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Popovich Retires as “Coach Pop”

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SAN ANTONIO – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Gregg Popovich is stepping away as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs and will become the team’s president of basketball operations, the Spurs announced.

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Popovich, 76, took over as the head coach in San Antonio 18 games into the 1996-97 season as led the Spurs to five NBA championships in 29 seasons. With 1,422 regular-season wins, he is the winningest coach in NBA history.

He missed most of the 2024-25 campaign, however, after suffering a mild stroke on Nov. 2. Interim coach Mitch Johnson was in charge the rest of the season and posted a 31-45 record with the young Spurs.

“While my love and passion for the game remain, I’ve decided it’s time to step away as head coach,” Popovich said in a statement Friday. “I’m forever grateful to the wonderful players, coaches, staff and fans who allowed me to serve them as the Spurs head coach and am excited for the opportunity to continue to support the organization, community and city that are so meaningful to me.”

The team has yet to announce who will serve as head coach in the 2025-26 season but ESPN reported that Johnson will get the job on a permanent basis.

The Spurs finished the 2024-25 campaign at 34-38 but have two of the brightest young stars in the game — Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle, the last two winners of the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award.

The Spurs made the NBA playoffs for 22 consecutive seasons under Popovich but have not qualified in the past six. San Antonio won at least 50 games in 18 consecutive seasons.

The Spurs put out a tribute video Friday that featured him along with some of the greatest moments and greatest players of his era, writing, “Thank you, Coach Pop, for your brilliance on and off the court. We look forward to our next chapter together.”

Erik Spoelstra, who has guided the Miami Heat since the 2008-09 season, becomes the longest-tenured coach in the NBA.

Popovich began his NBA career in 1988 as an assistant to Spurs coach Larry Brown. In 1992, he moved to a similar role with the Golden State Warriors and returned to San Antonio after two seasons, first in a front office role before becoming head coach. In all, 35 of his 37 NBA seasons have been with the Spurs.

With the Spurs, he has a career record of 1,422-869 in the regular season (.621) and a postseason record of 170-114 (.599).

He has won three NBA Coach of the Year awards, tying Don Nelson and Pat Riley for the most all-time honors. He led the Spurs to titles in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014.

Popovich also led the 2020 U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in Tokyo. He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023.

–Field Level Media

Jaylen Brown Delivers for Celtics

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report by Field Level Media ) – Boston’s Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 36 points and the Boston Celtics overcame the absence of leading scorer Jayson Tatum to beat the visiting Orlando Magic, 109-100, Wednesday in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

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Brown was 12 of 19 from the field — including 5-of-7 from 3-point territory — grabbed 10 rebounds and had five assists. Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the second-seeded Celtics, who have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Orlando used an 8-0 run to pull within five points early in the fourth quarter, but the Magic never got any closer.

Tatum, who averaged 26.8 points per game during the regular season, didn’t play in Game 2 because of a bone bruise. He was knocked to the floor while driving to the basket in the fourth quarter of Boston’s 103-86 Game 1 win on Sunday. Tatum returned to the game, but was listed as “doubtful” for Game 2 before the team’s final injury report officially ruled him out.

In his pregame press conference, Boston coach Joe Mazzulla called Tatum “day-to-day.” The Celtics went 8-2 during the regular season when Tatum didn’t play. Both losses came against Orlando.

The seventh-seeded Magic received 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists from Paulo Banchero. Franz Wagner finished with 25 points and Wendell Carter had 16.

Derrick White (17), Payton Pritchard (14) and Jrue Holiday (11) also scored in double figures for the Celtics, who won despite shooting 45.0 percent from the field.

The Celtics led 23-21 after one quarter and 50-47 at halftime. Boston had its largest lead of the game when Payton Pritchard connected on a 3-pointer that put the Celtics up 81-66 with 38.1 seconds remaining in the third quarter, but Orlando closed the quarter on a 5-0 spurt and trailed 71-61 entering the fourth.

The series shifts to Orlando for Game 3, which will be played Friday.

Pritchard is NBA’s Best 6th Man

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Celtics guard Payton Pritchard continued a long time Celtics tradition on Tuesday when Boston’s sharpshooting guard was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year. The Celtics weere the NBA team that coined the phrase back in the 1950s.

Pritchard received 454 total points in balloting, including 82 out of 100 first-place votes from a global media panel.

The Detroit Pistons’ Malik Beasley was second at 279 points and 13 first-place votes. The third finalist, Ty Jerome of the Cleveland Cavaliers, had 91 points and two first-place nods.

Pritchard, in his fifth NBA season all spent with the Celtics, averaged career highs of 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 80 games, coming off the bench in all but three. He was the defending NBA champions’ fifth-leading scorer in the regular season.

His 1,079 total points off the bench were the most of any reserve in the NBA this season.

Pritchard shot 40.7 percent on 3-pointers, making a career-high 255 of them (3.2 per game). He made 246 of those as a reserve, the most in NBA history.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Prep for Game 2; Tatum Doubtful

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – As the Boston Celtics prepare for Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Orlando Magic, they will have to do so with the likelihood that star Jayson Tatum will not suit up on Wednesday.

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The All-Star small forward landed awkwardly on his right wrist early in the fourth quarter following a flagrant foul by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. After remaining on the floor momentarily, Tatum remained in the game and finished with 17 points in 40 minutes of action.

Despite Boston coach Joe Mazzulla initially indicating that Tatum would be day-to-day, the Celtics on Wednesday listed Tatum as doubtful for Wednesday’s Game 2 with a right distal radius bone bruise.

Tatum told reporters that his X-ray came back negative and assured fans that he was feeling better.

“I just landed on it,” Tatum said. “It was throbbing for a second, then kind of went away.”

The leading scoring for the Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals, Tatum was looking to lead Boston to a repeat title to become the first team to go back-to-back since Golden State in 2017-18.

–Field Level Media

Celtics, Down a Point, Turn It On

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Celtics guard Derrick White made seven 3-point attempts and scored a team-high 30 points Sunday to lead the Boston to a 103-86 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic in Game 1 of their NBA Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

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Jayson Tatum added 17 points and 14 rebounds for second-seeded Boston, which received 19 points off the bench from Payton Pritchard. Jaylen Brown, who missed the final three regular-season games with posterior impingement in his right knee, finished with 16 points in 30 minutes.

Boston trailed by one at halftime, but took control by outscoring seventh-seeded Orlando 30-18 in the third.

Orlando’s Paulo Banchero led all scorers with 36 points. He also had 11 rebounds.

Franz Wagner contributed 23 points and five assists, but no other Magic player scored more than Jonathan Isaac’s seven points. Orlando’s Wendell Carter Jr. grabbed 13 rebounds.

Boston led 26-18 after one quarter and extended its lead to 12 points — its largest lead of the first half — when Pritchard connected on a 3-pointer with 10:50 left in the second quarter.

A 9-0 Orlando run sliced Boston’s lead to two points, then Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s 3-pointer with 1:57 remaining gave the Magic a 45-44 edge. The Magic led 49-48 at halftime as Banchero scored 19 points.

The Celtics scored 28 of the first 38 points in the third quarter and held a 76-59 advantage following Brown’s dunk with 1:56 left in the quarter. Boston had a 78-67 lead entering the final 12 minutes.

The Celtics led 89-71 early in the fourth and extended the lead to 19 points as the Magic never threatened.

Boston was 16-of-37 from 3-point range. Orlando was 10-of-27 from behind the 3-point arc, but was held to three 3-pointers in the second half.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series will be played Wednesday in Boston.

–Field Level Media

Celtics Don’t Cook at Home

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The Boston Celtics will try to avoid losing back-to-back games at home for the first time this season when they face the visiting Phoenix Suns tonight. After going unbeaten during a six-game road trip, Boston suffered a 124-103 home loss to Miami on Wednesday. Boston (56-20) has lost back-to-back games twice this season, but the first loss came on the road on both occasions.

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The Celtics have a 32-7 record on the road, but are 24-13 at home.

“We were on the road for 10, 12 days,” Jaylen Brown said. “Not an excuse or anything, but those first games back — that’s always a tough one just from a calibration standpoint. We’ve been in three, four different time zones, three different time zones. You’ve been away from home. You just get home and kind of get settled, and then you have to play a basketball game.

“It’s not an excuse. Of course we don’t make excuses. But first game back off a long road trip is always tough.”

Brown, who has been playing with a bone bruise in his right knee, scored a team-high 24 points in the loss to Miami. Following the game, Brown said he was playing through some pain.

“I’ve had to come to grips that every night I’m not going to feel my normal self, but that doesn’t mean I still can’t make plays and things like that,” he said. “So it’s just something that we are working through. (Wednesday) was a good step forward. I got some stuff lined up with the medical staff in order to be and feel better come playoffs. But as for now, just mentally working through not feeling great, but still able to find ways to be effective.”

Brown is listed as questionable for Friday’s game.

Boston’s Jrue Holiday (shoulder), Al Horford (toe) and Kristaps Porzingis (return from illness reconditioning) weren’t available to play in Wednesday’s loss. None were listed on Thursday’s injury report.

Phoenix (35-41) enters Friday’s matchup on a four-game losing streak. The Suns are 11th in the Western Conference standings — one game behind Sacramento — and need to move up one spot to qualify for the play-in tournament.

The Suns also need to get healthy. Kevin Durant is nursing a sprained ankle and isn’t expected back in the lineup until Tuesday’s home game against Golden State at the earliest. Durant is averaging 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 62 games this season.

Bradley Beal has also missed the last eight games with a left hamstring strain. Beal has played in 48 games this season and is averaging 17.3 points per contest.

“We still can make a run,” Beal said. “Obviously we’ve got to be healthy, get healthy, be available. The playoffs, anything can happen, man, but we’re a talented team and believe in what we can do. We’ve just got to give ourselves that opportunity.”

Beal didn’t play when Boston earned a 132-102 victory at Phoenix on March 26. Jayson Tatum didn’t suit up for Boston because of a sprained ankle. Tatum is fifth in the NBA in scoring (27.0 ppg).

Porzingis (30) was Boston’s leading scorer in the win. Phoenix received a team-high 30 points from Durant.

–Field Level Media

NBA Makes $154.6m Cap Projection

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NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) -The NBA will increase the salary cap by 10 percent for the 2025-26 season, according to multiple reports from the NBA’s annual Board of Governors meeting. The increase — the maximum allowed under the collective bargaining agreement — is reportedly projected to bring the cap number from $140.6 million to $154.6 million. Additionally, the luxury tax threshold is projected to rise from $170.8 million to $187.9 million, per Tuesday’s report.

For teams that exceed the luxury tax, the First Apron level is projected to be $195.9 million and the Second Apron level to be $207.8 million.

It is a move that was anticipated ahead of the league’s new broadcast rights kicking in next season. This increase would mark the third time in the past four years that the salary cap has increased by 10 percent.

–Field Level Media

Celtics, Tatum Defeat the Heat

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MIAMI – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 28 points, leading the visiting Boston Celtics to a 103-91 win over the slumping Miami Heat on Friday night. Boston (48-19) also got 25 points from Jrue Holiday, who made 10 of 15 shots, including shooting 5-of-8 on 3-pointers.

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Derrick White was key for the Celtics as he scored 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. Through three quarters, he was 0-for-6 on 3-pointers. But he made 3-of-5 from deep in the fourth quarter.

The Heat (29-37), who are 9-25 versus teams with a record of .500 or more, have lost a season-high six straight games. A 10-2 run early in the fourth quarter keyed by a White trey gave the Celtics breathing room and they cruised from there.

Boston, which is 16-4 over its past 20 games, made 19 3-pointers to just 13 for Miami.

Andrew Wiggins led Miami with 23 points, and the Heat got 19 points and a game-high six assists from Tyler Herro.

Boston’s Jaylen Brown, the reigning NBA Finals MVP, sat out the game due to a right-knee injury. Boston replaced the 6-6 Brown with 7-1 Luke Kornet in the starting lineup.

Miami switched up its starting lineup, too, but not due to injury. The Heat started Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Duncan Robinson in place of Kel’el Ware and Davion Mitchell … but to no avail.

To open the game, Boston made its first five shots to take a 14-6 lead. The first four of those shots were 3-pointers.

Miami, though, hung in there, trailing just 30-23 by the end of the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Heat tied the score 37-37 on a 3-pointer by Mitchell. After a Celtics miss, Miami took its first lead of the game, 39-37, on a Pelle Larsson cutting dunk with 5:34 left in the half.

Miami held Boston to 25.0 percent shooting in the second quarter as the teams went into halftime tied, 50-50. Miami shot 61.1 percent in the second quarter, including a 12-4 edge in paint points.

Holiday led all first-half scorers with 16 points. Wiggins had 14 points for Miami.

Miami led by as many as five points in the third, but the Celtics recovered to take a 78-77 lead into the fourth.

Boston then started the fourth with its 10-2 run, and Miami never got back on top.

–Field Level Media

OKC Thunder Into Boston

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BOSTON – Two of the favorites to win this year’s NBA championship will meet Wednesday night when the Boston Celtics close out a seven-game homestand against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Boston will enter the game as the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference behind Cleveland. The Celtics have won five in a row and are 5-1 on their current homestand with the lone loss coming against the Cavaliers on Feb. 28.

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Oklahoma City, which is at the top of the Western Conference standings, is coming off Monday’s 140-127 home loss to Denver, which ended the team’s seven-game winning streak. The host Thunder beat the Nuggets 127-103 one night earlier.

“We play so many games, so many good teams in the league — a win is never as good as it seems,” Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “A (loss) is never as bad as it seems. That’s what I always tell myself. (Sunday) night, I went to bed and was like, ‘Tomorrow’s gonna be a new day, you have to play them again. If you lose, you’re gonna have a terrible feeling.’

“It’s life. It’s basketball. Just gotta stay level-headed and learn from your mistakes and try to be better tomorrow.”

Oklahoma City forward Jalen Williams didn’t play in the second half of Monday’s loss with what the team described as a right hip strain. Williams was injured when Denver’s Peyton Watson landed on him after Watson committed a foul with 6:07 remaining in the second quarter.

Following Monday’s game, Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Williams would be evaluated further on Tuesday. Williams is averaging 21.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game this season.

The Celtics avoided what would have been an embarrassing loss by holding on to defeat the Jazz 114-108 on Monday. Boston nearly squandered a 24-point lead against visiting Utah, which is last in the Western Conference standings.

“I think a game like tonight, I think you would call it a trap game,” Boston’s Derrick White said following Monday’s victory. “We just had a big game against the Lakers (on Saturday), and obviously OKC’s coming in in two days. So games like this, it’s going to be up, it’s going to be down. You’ve just got to find a way to win them.”

The game also will feature two of the league’s marquee players in Gilgeous-Alexander and Boston’s Jayson Tatum. Gilgeous-Alexander is averaging a league-best 32.7 points per game and is a strong candidate to win the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award. Tatum, who didn’t play in Boston’s victory over Utah on Monday because of a right knee issue, is averaging 27.2 points per game, which is tied for fourth.

Gilgeous-Alexander had 33 points and 11 rebounds when Oklahoma City earned a 105-92 home victory against Boston on Jan. 5. Tatum finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

The Thunder held the Celtics to 27 points in the second half of that game. Boston was just 9 of 46 (19.6 percent) on 3-point attempts.

It remains unclear when Kristaps Porzingis will be available for Boston. Porzingis has missed the last six games with a viral illness.

“He’s doing what he can to get back,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “But he kind of said it best … at the same time, we’ve just got to kind of make sure he’s good, and we do what’s best for him.”

–Field Level Media

Bridgeman Passes Suddenly, 71

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LOUISVILLE – Former Louisville Cardinals college star, NBA legend and Milwaukee Bucks part-team owner Junior Bridgeman collapsed and died on Tuesday. He was 71.

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Bridgeman had a medical emergency while at a luncheon at the Galt House Hotel in Louisville, Ky. He reportedly told a reporter he thought he was having a heart attack. First responders were summoned and he was transported from the scene by ambulance.

The Al J. Schneider Company, which owns the hotel, confirmed Bridgeman’s death on Tuesday evening.

“Junior Bridgeman was an integral part of our community. From his athletic impact to his philanthropic efforts, he will be deeply missed,” Lance George, chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Bridgeman family during this time.”

Bridgeman was a billionaire entrepreneur and a big name in Louisville in addition to his basketball exploits.

Just six months ago, he purchased a 10 percent ownership stake in the Bucks. He reportedly bought it at a $3.4 billion valuation.

“The Milwaukee Bucks are shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Bucks legend and owner Junior Bridgeman,” the Bucks said in a statement. Junior’s retired No. 2 jersey hangs in Fiserv Forum, serving as a constant remembrance of his outstanding play on the court and his impact on the Bucks’ success.

“His hard work and perseverance led him to become one of the nation’s top business leaders and, last September, Junior’s professional life came full circle when he returned to the Bucks family as an owner. His memory will always be an inspiration to the Bucks organization.”

Bridgeman arrived on the scene while playing for the University of Louisville for three seasons (1972-75) and was a two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. He averaged 15.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 87 games. The Cardinals reached the Final Four in his last season, losing 75-74 in overtime to powerful UCLA.