UNDATED (AP) — Gregg Popovich tied Don Nelson’s NBA record with his 1,335th career victory as a coach in the San Antonio Spurs’ 117-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Popovich, in his 26th season, will try to pass Nelson when San Antonio hosts the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.
The Spurs had lost four straight with Popovich on the precipice of matching the record, and they were in danger of extending that skid with a late collapse against the struggling Lakers, who were without star LeBron James due to a sore left knee.
Dejounte Murray had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Jakob Poeltl and Josh Richardson each had 18 points
In other NBA action:
— Julius Randle hit eight 3-pointers and scored 17 of his career-high 46 points in the third quarter as the New York Knicks rallied from a 20-point deficit and beat the Sacramento Kings 131-115. One night after beating the Clippers in a win fueled mostly by New York’s younger players, Randle rallied the Knicks with a phenomenal shooting display in the second half. He made 12 of 17 shots after halftime, going seven of 11 from beyond the arc, and finished with 10 rebounds. RJ Barrett had 29 points, eight rebounds and six assists to help the Knicks to their second straight win after seven consecutive losses. Immanuel Quickley added 27 points. Domantas Sabonis had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Kings before being ejected in the fourth quarter.
— Nikola Jokic had his second triple-double in as many nights with 32 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists, leading the Denver Nuggets to a 131-124 win over the short-handed Golden State Warriors. Monte Morris and Jeff Green added 18 points apiece for the Nuggets, who have won 11 of 13 and moved to 13 games over .500 for the first time this season. The Warriors were playing with a depleted lineup after coach Steve Kerr announced Saturday that Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Andrew Wiggins would miss the game to rest. Jordan Poole had 32 points and Moses Moody 30 for the Warriors, who lost their fifth in a row.
— Luka Doncic had 35 points and a season-high 16 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks held on for a 111-103 victory over the Utah Jazz in a matchup of possible first-round playoff opponents. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 23 points and Dorian Finney-Smith added 21 for the Mavericks. Dallas won a fifth consecutive game and pulled within a half-game of the Jazz for the fourth seed in the Western Conference. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 21 points and Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz, who finished a five-game road trip.
— Victor Oladipo scored 11 points in in his first game in nearly a year, Tyler Herro scored 21 of his 31 points in the second quarter and the Miami Heat beat the Houston Rockets 123-106. Oladipo was playing his first game since April 8 following a second surgery to repair a right quadriceps tendon. He took a charge on his first defensive possession, hitting the deck without any signs of problems, then took another later in the game and had a dunk near the end of his 15-minute stint. Jimmy Butler scored 21 points for Miami. Kevin Porter Jr. scored 22 points for Houston.
— Joel Embiid had 43 points and 14 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 121-106 in a showdown between two of the Eastern Conference’s top teams headed in opposite directions. James Harden added 16 points and 14 assists, and Tyrese Maxey added 17 points for the 76ers, who have won six of seven and stayed perfect with Harden in the lineup. Embiid, the league’s leading scorer, made 15 of 27 field goals and 12 of 16 free throws. The MVP front-runner scored at least 40 points for the 10th time this season while upping his season average to 29.7 points per contest.
— Cade Cunningham had 28 points and 10 assists, lifting the Detroit Pistons to a 113-110 overtime win over the Atlanta Hawks. Jerami Grant scored 23 and reserve Marvin Bagley had 19 points for the Pistons, who have won a season-high three straight and six of their last eight games. Atlanta’s Bogdan Bogdanovic had 22 points before fouling out late in regulation and Trae Young had 14 points and 12 assists. The playoff-hopeful Hawks had chances to win late in regulation and to extend the game to another overtime.
— Karl-Anthony Towns had 27 points and 13 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Portland Trail Blazers by double digits for the second time in three days, 124-81. Malik Beasley added 19 points, and Naz Reid had 18 points and 11 rebounds off the bench for Minnesota. Portland has dropped five straight after winning four in a row.
Cavs’ Allen sidelined,
CLEVELAND (AP) — Cavaliers All-Star center Jarrett Allen will be sidelined indefinitely after breaking his left middle finger in Sunday’s win over the Toronto Raptors.
Allen got hurt in the first quarter, when he also sustained a bruised quadriceps while driving to the basket.
The team did not provide a timetable for Allen’s return.
