Popovich ties Riley for road wins; Spurs beat Wolves 116-113

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points, Rudy Gay added 22 and the San Antonio Spurs held on to give coach Gregg Popovich another milestone victory in a 116-113 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

The win was the 520th on the road in Popovich's career, tying him with Pat Riley for the most in NBA history. It also continued San Antonio's mastery of Minnesota. The Spurs have won 16 of the past 18 games between the teams.

Marco Belinelli added 19 points off the bench for San Antonio, which was playing without leading scorer DeMar DeRozan because of left ankle soreness.

San Antonio Spurs' LaMarcus Aldridge, left, eyes the basket as Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, in Minneapolis. (AP PhotoJim Mone)

Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points for the Timberwolves, but was limited to 21 minutes because of foul trouble. Derrick Rose chipped in 23 points and Taj Gibson added 14 points and 11 rebounds. Minnesota lost for the third time in four games.

Another matchup between the familiar foes was tight throughout, with 27 lead changes and 17 ties. It also featured a heavy dose of fouls on both sides. The teams combined for 53 personal fouls and 67 free throws.

Towns played only 6:13 in a scoreless first quarter, but Minnesota's bench helped make up for his absence. Towns re-entered and had 14 points in the second.

Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns, left, keeps the ball at arm's length from San Antonio Spurs' LaMarcus Aldridge in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, in Minneapolis. (AP PhotoJim Mone)

He picked up his fourth foul less than two minutes into the second half, and again went to the bench. Josh Okogie had six points and Jeff Teague added five as Minnesota used a 14-1 run to take a 77-67 lead.

The Spurs responded with a 13-2 spurt of their own as Davis Bertans hit a pair of 3-pointers.

The Wolves led 90-88 to start the fourth, but Bertans opened the quarter with another 3. San Antonio led by seven in the fourth, but Minnesota clawed back to within one with 30.3 seconds left on Rose's layup.

San Antonio Spurs' Derrick White, left, drives around Minnesota Timberwolves' Josh Okogie of Nigeria in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, in Minneapolis. (AP PhotoJim Mone)

Belinelli hit two free throws and Rose's 3 at the buzzer was off the mark.

TIP-INS

Spurs: Popovich is third in NBA history with 1,224 wins overall. He passed Jerry Sloan for third place on Jan. 10. . San Antonio entered 4-17 this season when trailing after three quarters.

Minnesota Timberwolves' Andrew Wiggins, left, shoots as San Antonio Spurs' Derrick White defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, in Minneapolis. (AP PhotoJim Mone)

Timberwolves: Tyus Jones missed the game with a left ankle sprain sustained Tuesday at Philadelphia. Robert Covington missed his eighth straight game with a right knee bone bruise. . Andrew Wiggins passed Sam Mitchell (7,161) for second place on the franchise's career scoring list. Wiggins has 7,174 points. Kevin Garnett is first with 19,201 points in a Wolves uniform. . After scoring his 10,000th career point on Tuesday, Rose got his 3,000th assist on Friday. . Minnesota announced that Jerry Sichting was hired as an assistant coach. It is Sichting's third stint with the Wolves. He spent 10 years with the team from 1995-2005 and two seasons from 2007-09.

UP NEXT

Spurs: Return home against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

San Antonio Spurs' Pau Gasol, left, of Spain, causes Minnesota Timberwolves' Josh Okogie of Nigeria to lose the ball in the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, in Minneapolis. (AP PhotoJim Mone)

Timberwolves: Host the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

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Minnesota Timberwolves' Karl-Anthony Towns, right, drives around San Antonio Spurs' LaMarcus Aldridge during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Jan. 18, 2019, in Minneapolis. The Spurs won 116-113. (AP PhotoJim Mone)

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Paolo Banchero had 31 points and 14 rebounds, Jalen Suggs added 24 points and the Orlando Magic handed Cleveland the worst playoff loss in franchise history, winning 121-83 on Thursday night to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 2-1 in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Franz Wagner finished with 16 points and eight assists for the Magic, who led by 43 points in the fourth quarter on the way to the third-largest margin of victory in a playoff game. They earned their first playoff victory since 2019 and the first on their home floor since April 26, 2011.

They can even the series with a victory at home Sunday.

Jarrett Allen had 15 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who shot 39% from the field and 23.5% from 3-point range. Caris LeVert added 15 points and Donovan Mitchell had 13 points and seven assists.

76ERS 125, KNICKS 114

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid scored 50 points, making all four 3-point attempts and scoring 18 in a potential series-shifting third quarter to lead Philadelphia to a win over New York in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Embiid boldly stated “we’re going to win this series” after the 76ers dropped Game 2.

With one of the finest postseason efforts of his career, Embiid became the third player to ever score 50 points against the Knicks in the postseason and kept the hope of a Philadelphia series comeback very much alive.

The Knicks lead the series 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday in Philadelphia.

Embiid was 13 of 19 from the floor overall, made 19 of 21 free throws and hit five 3-pointers.

NUGGETS 112, LAKERS 105

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Aaron Gordon had 29 points and 15 rebounds, Nikola Jokic added 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, and Denver moved to the brink of the second round with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of their first-round series..

Jamal Murray scored 22 points as the defending NBA champion Nuggets won their 11th consecutive meeting with LeBron James and the Lakers in dominating style.

Michael Porter Jr. added 20 points for Denver, which took control in the third quarter and cruised through the final minutes to its fifth straight road win over Los Angeles, starting with its sweep of last season’s Western Conference finals.

Game 4 is Saturday night in Los Angeles. No NBA team has ever rallied from an 0-3 playoff deficit.

Orlando Magic guard Cole Anthony (50) makes a shot as he gets past Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sam Merrill (5) during the second half of Game 3 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)