Indianapolis: The Spurs’ huge fourth-quarter rally helped Gregg Popovich reach the 1,000-win milestone on Monday as San Antonio downed the Indiana Pacers 95-93.
Marco Belinelli’s baseline jumper with 2.1 seconds left capped the win as Popovich became the ninth coach with 1,000 regular-season wins and the third-fastest to achieve the feat. He also joined former Utah coach Jerry Sloan as the only managers in NBA history to win 1,000 games with one team.
Tony Parker led the Spurs with 19 points. Tim Duncan had 15.
Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant scored 40 points and Russell Westbrook had 26 as the Thunder beat the Nuggets 124-114 to hand Denver their sixth loss in a row.
Durant matched a career best by hitting seven 3-pointers and finished 13 of 19 from the floor. Mitch McGary added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Thunder.
The Nuggets, who have lost 13 of 14, were led by Wilson Chandler’s 23 points.
Stephen Curry scored 20 points for Golden State and Leandro Barbosa had 16 off the bench as the Warriors ended the Philadelphia 76ers’ four-game home winning streak.
Klay Thompson and former Sixer Andre Iguodala added 13 points apiece for the Warriors (41-9), who have won four of five and two straight after opening their four-game road trip with a loss to the Hawks on Friday.
In Minneapolis, Al Horford scored a season-high 28 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and DeMarre Carroll added a career-best 26 points to lift the Atlanta Hawks over the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-105.
Paul Millsap had 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Hawks (43-10), who bounced back from a loss to Memphis the previous night. The NBA-leading Hawks still have not lost back-to-back games since November 18. They shot 51 per cent and outscored Minnesota 58-44 in the paint.
Kevin Martin scored 21 points and Shabazz Mohammad had 18 points and eight rebounds for Minnesota.
The Washington Wizards downed the Orlando Magic 96-80 after John Wall fell one point short of his first triple-double of the season, and Marcin Gortat had 14 points and 14 rebounds.
Wall hit a 3-pointer early in the third quarter — the first shot made from beyond the arc by either team — to open an 11-0 run that put Washington in control. He wound up with nine points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds after missing a floater with about 50 seconds left.
In other games Chris Bosh scored 32 points and Mario Chalmers added 18 as the Miami Heat defeated the New York Knicks 109-95, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Brooklyn Nets 103-97 and the Utah Jazz were 100-96 winners over the New Orleans Pelicans.
