Spurs at Nets
Whether or not Gregg Popovich will be back on the bench remains unknown as the San Antonio Spurs visit the Brooklyn Nets on Friday. Popovich missed Tuesday's 104-103 road win over the Charlotte Hornets for "personal business" and the team declined to reveal whether or not he made the trip to Charlotte.
Former star player Tim Duncan served as the coach in the victory over the Hornets and said it was a collaborative effort. "We've got (assistants) Becky (Hammon) and Will (Hardy) and Mitch (Johnson)," Duncan told reporters. "Mitch prepped the game for us, Becky and Will were making all the calls, and I was the only one just standing there screaming at people - nonsensical stuff. So we did it coach by committee, and it could've been any one of us up there and we would've done exactly the same stuff." The Nets are coming off a poor effort as they were blown out 118-79 by the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday. "I think you build through struggles like this, games like this and stretches like this, but I'll tell you this: We've got to play better if we're going to stay in this playoff hunt," Brooklyn coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters.
TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: FS Southwest, YES, NBA TV Canada
ABOUT THE SPURS (26-34): Veteran power forward LaMarcus Aldridge will sit out for the fifth straight contest as his ailing shoulder is still bothering him. The seven-time All-Star injured his shoulder against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 21 and played 21 minutes in San Antonio's following game but hasn't seen any action since. Point guard Dejounte Murray sparked the win over Charlotte with 21 points and six assists as six Spurs scored in double digits.
ABOUT THE NETS (27-34): The poor performance against Memphis came one night after Brooklyn put up a strong rally to post a dramatic 129-120 overtime victory over the Boston Celtics. But that fire was nowhere to be found against the Grizzlies and shooting guard Caris LeVert struggled to 14 points on 6-of-19 shooting after scoring a career-high 51 versus Boston. "I think collectively we didn't like our compete level and our spirit wasn't where it needed to be," Atkinson said. "We talked about it in the locker room. The coaches and players had a good old-fashioned (chat) ... great communication. These are the moments where you really have to embrace the adversity."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Spurs won eight of the past nine meetings, including a 118-105 home win on Dec. 19.
2. San Antonio G DeMar DeRozan had 12 points and 10 assists against the Hornets for his fifth double-double of the season.
3. Brooklyn G Garrett Temple (ankle) could miss his second straight game.