OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — With Sean Sweeney, it was only a matter of time before he became a head coach.
That's one of the reasons San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson wasn't surprised when told that Sweeney was leaving the Spurs to take over as the new coach of the Orlando Magic. Sweeney and the Magic reached a preliminary agreement in the last few days; the Magic have yet to announce that the deal is finalized.
“Thrilled for Sean. He deserves it," Johnson said Saturday before the Spurs played the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. “He’s had many opportunities of potentially becoming a head coach and so it was a matter of when, not if, even when I reached out to him to speak with him for the first time.”
Johnson is in his first full year as San Antonio's coach, after serving 77 games as an interim coach last season in the aftermath of longtime coach Gregg Popovich suffering a stroke. He brought Sweeney in as his associate head coach last summer and tasked the defensive guru with fixing that side of the ball for San Antonio.
The results: The Spurs underwent a massive turnaround defensively from last season, with unanimous Defensive Player of the Year selection Victor Wembanyama leading the on-court charge — but Sweeney leading the way from the bench.
“Definitely happy for him," Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. "The impact that he’s had here has been tremendous. I mean, he’s challenged everybody to be better on the defensive end. He’s holding us to a certain standard. You know, I wish him all the luck.”
Sweeney started in the NBA as a video coordinator for the then-New Jersey Nets, and has since had assistant stints with the Nets, Milwaukee, Detroit, Dallas and San Antonio.
“Happy for Orlando, and happy for us as he’s in the Eastern Conference,” Johnson said. "But thrilled for Sean. I think it’s a really good situation. Know some people over there, it’s going to be a really good fit and well deserved and very happy for him.”
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FILE - Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Sean Sweeney directs the team during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Dec. 19, 2022, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa imposed its forward power on New Zealand and won a pulsating third test 29-24 to snatch a 2-1 lead in their historic rugby series on Saturday.
The comeback from losing the first test ensured the Springboks cannot lose the series. They have a chance next Saturday in the fourth and final match in Baltimore to clinch their first series victory over the All Blacks since 1976.
The Springboks muscled up in the set-pieces to prevail. The scrum earned a penalty try to level at halftime 12-12 and when they led for the first time an hour in, they secured the win with a magnificent, crabbing lineout maul from which Malcolm Marx dived between the posts and thumped the ground in joy.
“We're so proud of the win today,” South Africa captain Siya Kolisi said, “but it was a great game from the All Blacks. They pushed us to the limit.”
For the first time in the series, they matched New Zealand for tries — four each — and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu replaced injured goalkicker Cheslin Kolbe to slot seven points.
Crucially, counterpart Ruben Love missed seven out of nine points off the tee. Also, New Zealand captain Ardie Savea was lost to injury after 30 minutes, costing the All Blacks their leading physical presence.
They can still rescue a series draw against the pre-tour odds next weekend but the inspirational Savea won't travel to Baltimore, “gutted” New Zealand coach Dave Rennie said.
They rued careless errors that gave hope back to South Africa after they led 17-12.
A missed tackle by Leroy Carter allowed South Africa's Jesse Kriel to stroll in untouched. The host's two-point lead then became nine with 14 minutes to go. A kick over the deadball line led to the maul and Marx try that energized the Boks in front of their biggest crowd of the tour: 85,976.
“We just couldn't get our game going for long enough to hurt them,” Rennie said. “When we hit the lead (in the second half) we gave up a soft try. To be fair, they dominated the next 15 minutes.”
In a breathless end-to-end first half, wrecking ball hooker Asafo Aumua, danger winger Will Jordan and Savea spearheaded New Zealand's best start in the series.
Feinberg-Mngomezulu was fortunate to concede only a yellow card and not a penalty try for a deliberate knockdown in the same New Zealand attack that forced off Kolbe with a head knock.
Moments later, Aumua set up Savea's 34th test try that made him the forward with the most in men’s internationals.
Prop Ox Nché and winger Ethan Hooker were carrying South Africa, which held out with 14 men and managed to score when Damian de Allende brushed off Carter and gave other winger Kurt-Lee Arendse an overlap try.
Savea’s second try featured a big sidestep by lock Tupou Vaa'i in his 50th test and Savea’s skip pass to Carter. Feinberg-Mngomezulu played the ball out of the ruck and Savea scooped it up on the run to score.
Five minutes later, Savea was leaving with a suspected shoulder injury. That brought in Wallace Sititi, whose sister Amarante also came off the bench and scored in the New Zealand women's 52-20 win over South Africa in the curtain-raiser.
New Zealand spent the last 10 minutes under siege and Love was yellow-carded. The South Africa scrum, already menacing, earned the penalty try for 12-12 when a pushover attempt was interfered with.
But with new props, New Zealand got a scrum penalty for what referee Nika Amashukeli said was South Africa walking around. It was the first time in the series the Springboks were called out for it. Scrums have been a flash point and South Africa has denied walking around. The 52-meter penalty kick was missed by Love.
Love also missed converting a try by Jordan, whose chip was collected by Carter, who popped up for the trailing Jordan to grab his 54th try.
At that point, South Africa replaced stalwarts Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth and Nché and New Zealand got careless.
See AP’s full rugby coverage here
New Zealand's captain Ardie Savea, front, breaks away from South Africa's captain Siya Kolisi, to score a try during a third international test rugby match between South Africa and New Zealand, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
New Zealand's Luke Jacobson, right, is tackled by South Africa's Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, left, and his teammate Pieter-Steph du Toit, during a third international test rugby match between South Africa and New Zealand, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)
