Gregg Popovich is the winningest NBA coach with a single franchise after his San Antonio Spurs handed the Denver Nuggets a 121-97 loss at AT&T Center on Saturday night. Victory number 1,128 catapulted Popovich past former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan for the honor.
Two of Popovich’s longtime stars, although now in the twilight of their careers, helped propel their coach to the victory. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker each scored 18 points in the game, with all of Ginobli’s points coming in the first half. Ginobili did not even see the floor in the second half.
Denver trailed by six at the half, but the Spurs pulled away for good with a 21-7 run to open the half. Denver’s Jamal Murray led all scorers with 20 points off the bench. Kawhi Leonard led San Antonio with 19 points in the win. Nikola Jokic logged just 15 minutes for Denver one night after returning from a hip injury and posting a triple-double over 32 minutes in a win over Milwaukee.
Denver is back home against Dallas on Monday before heading out on a three-game East Coast road trip.
