San Antonio Spurs center Jakob Poeltl burst onto the fantasy scene with some impactful performances down the stretch last season, with his 1.8 blocks per game average earning him some notoriety. Yet, blocked shots were absent from his stat line in a nonetheless impressive effort in Wednesday's win vs. Orlando. Poeltl finished with 12 points and 13 boards -- eight of which came on the offensive glass -- all while tossing in seven assists for good measure. (Just once prior in his career had Poeltl reached that total.) While Poeltl is unlikely to be a focal point of San Antonio's offense on a nightly basis, he appears to have an unabated role to the center spot as he logged 30 minutes with Thaddeus Young not playing off the bench. There should be no season-long format in which Poeltl is not rostered.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — After relying heavily on veterans for two decades, the San Antonio Spurs are having growing pains in their transformation to a younger roster. For the first time, San Antonio missed the playoffs for a second straight season after an NBA-record 22 straight appearances. “Unique, roller coaster, weird,” Spurs veteran guard DeMar DeRozan said. “I think those are three things that sum up this season.” The days of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili guiding a veteran roster have given way to Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Keldon Johnson and Lonnie Walker learning on the fly through injuries, little practice and a compacted schedule because ot he pandemic. It was one of the most confounding seasons for Gregg Popovich, but also one of the most rewarding in his 25 years as Spurs coach. “If any team needs practices to work on consistency and execution, we did,” Popovich said. “(But) I don’t know if I have ever been more proud of a team that just doesn’t quit. No matter what... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA fined the San Antonio Spurs $25,000 on Sunday for violating the league's player resting policy — in a game the Spurs won by 26 points. The Spurs sat DeMar DeRozan, Patty Mills and Jakob Poeltl to give them rest on Saturday night in Phoenix. It didn't matter, as six Spurs players scored in double figures in a 111-85 rout of the Suns. According to the league's resting policy, teams should not rest multiple healthy players for the same game. When they do rest healthy players, it is supposed to be in home games. Under Gregg Popovich, the Spurs have long rested players even when they are healthy, one of the reasons the league first implemented a resting policy in 2017. Teams can be fined $100,000 for violating it. ___ More AP NBA coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

CLEVELAND (AP) — Andre Drummond returned from a leg injury to score 28 points and add 17 rebounds, and Kevin Love shook off a tough shooting night to make a big 3-pointer in overtime and lift the improving Cleveland Cavaliers to a 132-129 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.Drummond, who missed the past three games with a strained left calf, put the Cavs up 124-22 with a layup and Love followed with his 3 from the corner 28 seconds later to put Cleveland up by five.Love had missed his first four attempts from long range before his clutch shot and he finished just 3 of 12 from the field, but added 18 rebounds.Derrick White hit a 3 to pull the Spurs within 131-129 in the final seconds, but Collin Sexton made a free throw for the Cavs and San Antonio didn't get off a last-second heave in time.It was the second straight close win for the young Cavs, who beat Denver 104-102 on Saturday. Cleveland improved to 5-5 under coach J.B. Bickerstaff and matched its win total from last season, when... [More]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Indiana guard Victor Oladipo missed Monday night's game against San Antonio after experiencing swelling in his right knee following the Pacers' morning shootaround.Oladipo returned to action Jan. 20 from a ruptured quad tendon that forced him to miss more than a full calendar year.Pacers coach Nate McMillan said it’s too early to know how long Oladipo will be out."He has swelling, so we decided to not play him tonight," McMillan said.Oladipo is averaging 12.0 points in 10 games this season for Indiana, which is a half-game behind Philadelphia for fifth in the Eastern Conference.The Spurs were without big men Jakob Poeltl and LaMarcus Aldridge, who is missing his third straight game with a sore right shoulder. Poeltl sprained his right MCL during the first quarter of San Antonio’s 114-113 victory over Orlando on Saturday.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs understand how they can be overlooked in the Western Conference given the flurry of trades and free agent signings in the offseason that reshaped so many of their rivals.That doesn't mean they have to like it."We've got a lot of dogs," Spurs guard Dejounte Murray said. "A lot of dudes with chips on their shoulders. A lot of guys are ready to go and go to war against any team in the NBA."That resolve is needed if San Antonio hopes to earn its 23rd straight postseason berth under Gregg Popovich.Already long regarded as the league's strongest conference, the West got even tougher during a whirlwind first week in July.Former Spurs star Kawhi Leonard has teamed with Paul George on the Los Angeles Clippers. Anthony Davis joined LeBron James on the Los Angeles Lakers. Russell Westbrook is again playing alongside James Harden but this time in Houston. Utah traded for Mike Conley to pair with Donovan Mitchell.The Spurs' offseason consisted of adding DeMarre... [More]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Spurs suffered through an odd, erratic season filled with injuries, strife and drama before a second straight ouster from the playoffs in the first round.Gregg Popovich enjoyed it so much he is coming back for a 24th season as coach in San Antonio.Normally extremely private, Popovich said Monday he is negotiating a new deal with the Spurs after his current contract expired this season. There was some uncertainty surrounding his return, but the 70-year-old Popovich put an end to that with a quip or two."I'm currently in negotiations and could very well end up with either the Portofino Flyers or the Positano Pirates (or the Spurs)," Popovich said dryly. "I think it's like one-third Positano, one-third Portofino and one-third San Antonio. So, we'll see where I end up."There is little chance Popovich ends up anywhere but San Antonio, where he has enjoyed unprecedented success. His desire to return was apparent during an 18-minute news conference to wrap up a season that... [More]

DENVER (AP) — No stranger to the weight that accompanies Game 7s , DeMar DeRozan offered one overly basic reminder to his team."Us versus them," the San Antonio guard said.DeRozan's point : It's not his team playing a hostile crowd when the Spurs face the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center in the first-round series finale Saturday.Still, the second-seeded Nuggets went a league-best 34-7 at home in the regular season behind all that noise."Go out there and play free, play smart," said DeRozan, whose team forced a winner-moves-on scenario with a 120-103 victory Thursday in San Antonio. "We can't get caught up in the crowd."The Spurs are packing enough outfits for a week's worth of travel — just in case. Should they win, it's off to Portland to start the Western Conference semifinals. Should they lose, the offseason begins."We're not going to pack for no reason," Spurs forward Rudy Gay said. "If I'm going to pack my clothes, I'm going to use them."That's the sort of swagger the Spurs bring to... [More]

DENVER (AP) — No stranger to the weight that accompanies Game 7s , DeMar DeRozan offered one overly basic reminder to his team."Us versus them," the San Antonio guard said.DeRozan's point : It's not his team playing a hostile crowd when the Spurs face the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center in the first-round series finale Saturday.Still, the second-seeded Nuggets went a league-best 34-7 at home in the regular season behind all that noise."Go out there and play free, play smart," said DeRozan, whose team forced a winner-moves-on scenario with a 120-103 victory Thursday in San Antonio. "We can't get caught up in the crowd."The Spurs are packing enough outfits for a week's worth of travel — just in case. Should they win, it's off to Portland to start the Western Conference semifinals. Should they lose, the offseason begins."We're not going to pack for no reason," Spurs forward Rudy Gay said. "If I'm going to pack my clothes, I'm going to use them."That's the sort of swagger the Spurs bring to... [More]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Derrick White's ascension into the starting lineup and the pivotal role he has played in helping San Antonio earn its 22nd straight postseason appearance was a greater surprise to him than anyone else.To hear his teammates and coach Gregg Popovich tell it, the soft-spoken kid not only belongs in the spotlight, he commands it."He has been spectacular," Popovich said. "Everything he's done has been off the charts and I couldn't be more thrilled for him."The second-year point guard who did not receive a single scholarship offer from a four-year institution coming out of high school is about to step onto an even bigger stage: His first postseason start comes Saturday in his native Colorado as the seventh-seeded Spurs take on the second-seeded Nuggets in Denver, not far from where he played high school ball in suburban Parker. He averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.2 steals and only one turnover as the Spurs split their four-game season series against the Nuggets.A... [More]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is downplaying the significance of Kawhi Leonard's return to San Antonio.As usual, Leonard isn't saying much.But Leonard's first game in San Antonio since being traded to Toronto along with Danny Green for DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl has more significance than just another regular season gamePopovich once deemed the franchise belonged to the 6-foot-7 MVP candidate with the impending departure of the Big Three — Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. But Leonard's unhappiness and request for a trade stunned the organization."Give me some popcorn, I just want to watch it," Spurs veteran LaMarcus Aldridge quipped Wednesday. "If I can just get some popcorn and watch it, I would, but I might have to play."It's easier to joke about the pending reunion because there was nothing funny about the breakup.Leonard sat out all but nine games last season with a right quadriceps injury that first flared up prior to training camp. The diagnosis, treatment... [More]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is downplaying the significance of Kawhi Leonard's return to San Antonio.As usual, Leonard isn't saying much.But Leonard's first game in San Antonio since being traded to Toronto along with Danny Green for DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl has more significance than just another regular season gamePopovich once deemed the franchise belonged to the 6-foot-7 MVP candidate with the impending departure of the Big Three — Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. But Leonard's unhappiness and request for a trade stunned the organization."Give me some popcorn, I just want to watch it," Spurs veteran LaMarcus Aldridge quipped Wednesday. "If I can just get some popcorn and watch it, I would, but I might have to play."It's easier to joke about the pending reunion because there was nothing funny about the breakup.Leonard sat out all but nine games last season with a right quadriceps injury that first flared up prior to training camp. The diagnosis, treatment... [More]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — DeMar DeRozan's first month with Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has been serene, though the All-Star guard acquired in the offseason from Toronto has been warned about provoking "angry Pop.""That hurts me," Popovich said playfully. "I just, just . it hurts me. Our relationship is not starting off well, I guess. I guess I have more work to do than I thought."Welcome to the kinder, gentler Spurs?Hardly.Popovich is still going to scream at his players on the court and will always be mischievous off it. More specifically, the franchise he built is still going to rely heavily on ball movement and defense, albeit with a whole lot of new faces.The era of the Big Three is officially over for San Antonio with Tony Parker leaving in free agency and Manu Ginobili joining Tim Duncan in retirement this summer. DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl, Lonnie Walker, Dante Cunningham, Quincy Pondexter and Chimezie Metu and a host of others were invited to training camp, which starts Tuesday."I still don't... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Kawhi Leonard spoke publicly in his first appearance as a Toronto Raptor and said he is physically ready to play.Leonard joined the Raptors in a summertime blockbuster trade with the San Antonio Spurs. How long he stays in Toronto is unclear but the former NBA Finals MVP and two-time defensive player of the year who was limited to nine games last season because of a right quadriceps injury insists he is ready to go as the team gets ready for training camp in Vancouver, British Columbia.Sharing a podium with Raptors president Masai Ujiri, who pulled the trigger on the trade that included acquiring forward Danny Green and losing DeMar DeRozan, Leonard addressed the biggest question about him: His health."Right now I'm feeling great, ready to play basketball." Leonard said. "Throughout the summer I worked on my body. Took it step-by-step, just getting fully healthy, getting ready to make this extra step this season."The usually reserved Leonard also attempted to offer the crowded... [More]

TORONTO (AP) — Kawhi Leonard has yet to address the media in Toronto since his trade to the Raptors, but team president Masai Ujiri said Tuesday that his star acquisition is happy and healthy."He is determined and seems in the right frame of mind," Ujiri said. "You will be hearing from him shortly. I think there is a fire inside of him and we are all excited about that."Leonard was the centerpiece of one of the NBA's biggest off-season trades. The Raptors acquired the two-time Defensive Player of the Year from the San Antonio Spurs along with Danny Green in exchange for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a draft pick. Ujiri swung the deal while in Kenya working with his nonprofit, Giants of Africa.While Leonard has remained mum on the move, Ujiri said he's not concerned about the 27-year-old's commitment to the franchise, saying Leonard worked out with Raptors coaches in Los Angeles, and has visited Toronto a couple of times."Basketball person. Just loves the game," he said. "Wants to play... [More]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Manu Ginobili walked into the San Antonio Spurs practice facility and saw the intense efforts of his young teammates in preseason workouts.Ginobili had put himself through those same workouts for 16 seasons. But this August morning, the 41-year-old realized he couldn't. For a player who has literally thrown himself into his basketball career, the realization his body and spirit were no longer willing cemented the decision to walk away from the NBA."I couldn't see my body going through that kind of grind again," Ginobili said Saturday during a press conference at the Spurs practice facility. "I felt that I had a good season, that I left everything that I had in the previous season both physically and mentally."Ginobili was thoughtful, self-effacing and funny in his first interview since announcing his retirement Aug. 27 on social media. He steps away after helping San Antonio win four of its five NBA titles, the last coming in 2014.His retirement, along with Tony Parker's... [More]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The most tumultuous offseason in Gregg Popovich's two decades with the Spurs ended with the trade of star Kawhi Leonard to Toronto.And Popovich says he is fine with that.The Spurs traded Leonard and Danny Green to the Toronto Raptors for DeMar DeRozan, Jakob Poeltl and a conditional 2019 first-round pick on Wednesday. It was clear that Leonard was ready to go despite years of success with Popovich and the Spurs."At his point, my main interest is definitely not to look back," Popovich said. "It doesn't do us any good whatsoever. I'm thrilled to have DeMar and Jakob join us. From that point on, that's where my focus will be."Popovich was jovial and heartfelt in speaking to the media for the first time since his wife, Erin, died April 18. Popovich did not coach the Spurs in the final three games of their first-round playoff loss to Golden State.Popovich said this offseason has been "difficult" for him, but it has not dampened the 69-year-old's desire to continue coaching."When... [More]

The Kawhi Leonard saga in San Antonio is over. So is DeMar DeRozan's time in Toronto.An NBA summer blockbuster got pulled off Wednesday, with the Spurs sending Leonard to the Raptors as part of a four-player deal that has DeRozan heading to San Antonio. The Spurs also got center Jakob Poeltl and a 2019 protected first-round draft pick, while the Raptors acquired sharpshooter Danny Green.For Leonard and the Spurs, there's finally closure to a relationship that seemed fractured beyond repair and played out like a soap opera as the season went along. But in the end, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich — insisting that looking back at what happened would not be worth his time, and that Leonard was a good teammate throughout his tenure in San Antonio — simply said he hopes the move works out for everyone involved."Kawhi, obviously, worked very hard to become the player he is," Popovich said in San Antonio, a couple of hours after the trade became official when the teams got approval on the terms from... [More]

The Kawhi Leonard saga in San Antonio is finally over. So is DeMar DeRozan's time in Toronto.An NBA summer blockbuster got pulled off Wednesday, with the Spurs sending Leonard to the Raptors — weeks after the disgruntled 2014 NBA Finals MVP asked for a trade — as part of a deal that also has DeRozan leaving Toronto for San Antonio. The Spurs also got Jakob Poeltl and a 2019 protected first-round draft pick, while the Raptors acquired Danny Green.For Leonard and the Spurs, there's finally closure to a relationship that obviously was fractured beyond repair and devolved into a soap opera as the season went along. For DeRozan, who has often professed his love for Toronto, the initial reaction seemed to be one of anger and frustration."Ain't no loyalty in this game," DeRozan wrote in an Instagram story that appeared in the wee hours of Wednesday, around the time that ESPN and Yahoo Sports reported that the trade was approaching the imminent stage. "Sell you out quick for a little bit of nothing... [More]

San Antonio has traded 2014 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard to Toronto for four-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan in a blockbuster deal.The trade was finalized Wednesday. The Spurs are also sending Danny Green to the Raptors, who are shipping Jakob Poeltl and a protected 2019 first-round draft pick to San Antonio.The trade ends the drawn-out saga regarding Leonard's future in San Antonio. He appeared in only nine games with the Spurs last season, and any doubt about whether there was a disconnect between him and the team was answered earlier this offseason when he asked for a trade.Leonard can become a free agent next summer, which means there's no guarantee he'll be in Toronto for long.DeRozan, meanwhile, has been Toronto's best scorer in each of the last five seasons and led the team to a 59-23 record and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs this past season.___More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball