You would think a team without their coach, might struggle a little bit. Well, in the case of even the defending champion San Antonio Spurs, that’s just what happened. The Spurs though fought off the Indiana Pacers and their makeshift roster to defeat them, without coach Gregg Popovich, 106-100.
Popovich missed the game after undergoing what the team is calling a ‘minor medical procedure’. His status for Friday’s home game against Sacramento is unknown. Assistant coach Ettore Messina took over for Popovich, becoming the first European-born coach to run an NBA team in the regular season.
Manu Ginobili had a season-high 28 points with 4 assists off the bench. Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard each had 21 points. Parker had 6 assists and Leonard had 13 rebounds. Tim Duncan scored 17 points with 6 rebounds as well for the Spurs.
For the second straight game the Indiana Pacers had a starting lineup that is completely different from the one they put out for the Eastern Conference Finals in last year’s playoffs. This team though stepped up immensely and even had a halftime lead over the defending champ.
Rodney Stuckey scored 22 points to lead the Pacers with 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Luis Scola had 13 points and Solomon Hill had 10 points. Pacers bench scoring was lead by Chris Copeland who had 12 points and A.J. Price also came off the bench for 11 points and 5 assists.
Ginobili resembled the energetic, high-flying star who played for Bologna in 2001 under Messina before he joined the Spurs, helping San Antonio’s Core Four direct the team to victory without their usually animated coach.
San Antonio Spurs are 10-4. Indiana Pacers are 6-9.
Full Game Highlights.
https://youtu.be/odLsNWjlP8A
