Indianapolis, IN (SportsNetwork.com) - The San Antonio Spurs used a fourth quarter comeback and some late heroics to make Gregg Popovich's 1,000th win a memorable one.
Except the low-keyed Popovich remained his usual self postgame, treating the milestone just like any other victory.
"I don't do too much celebrating," he said.
Marco Belinelli hit a go-ahead jumper with 2.1 seconds left and the Spurs edged the Indiana Pacers 95-93 on Monday night.
Popovich, who became the ninth coach to reach the milestone, is the third fastest and the second to accomplish the feat with one team. Phil Jackson reached the mark in 1,423 games, Pat Riley in 1,434 and Popovich got there in 1,462.
"I've been here a long time and I've had good players. That's the formula," Popovich said.
He walked over to midcourt following the game and placed an arm around Pacers coach Frank Vogel, then hugged George Hill before walking into the Spurs' locker room.
No celebrating, no smiling, no nothing.
It was just like any other win.
His previous player Hill could've prevented win No. 1,000 from happening, but his straightaway 3-pointer at the horn clanked off the right side of the rim.
San Antonio outscored Indiana 30-14 in the final frame after trailing by 14 at the end of three.
Tony Parker had 19 points and six assists, Tim Duncan added 15 points and eight rebounds and Danny Green pulled down 12 rebounds for the Spurs, who have won 10 of their last 13 games.
They've taken 15 of the last 16 matchups against the Pacers.
Rodney Stuckey netted 18 points, while David West supplied 10 points and 18 boards for Indiana, which had won four of its last five contests coming in.
"Had some unfortunate plays in the last few minutes," Vogel said. "A couple of misses inside for us."
After Belinelli's 3-pointer tied the game at 59-59 with 5:03 left in the third quarter, the Pacers closed the frame on a 20-6 run to pull ahead. Solomon Hill hit a triple and converted a layup before C.J. Watson capped the surge with a trey for a 79-65 Pacers cushion.
Indiana outscored San Antonio 34-18 in the third.
The Spurs, though, ripped off nine in a row to knot things up, with a Kawhi Leonard three-point play, Duncan layup and a pair of Parker free throws squaring the game at 91-91 with 3:13 remaining.
A Stuckey pull-up jumper put the Pacers back in front and an Aron Baynes tip- in evened the contest again with 56.7 ticks on the clock.
West was off the mark on a foul line jumper at the other end. Danny Green was unable to connect on a left corner triple, but Duncan snatched the offensive rebound.
Leonard had the ball along the right wing following a timeout, dribbled to the the right block to force a double team and kicked it out to the left corner. Belinelli pumped to lead Stuckey astray, pulled up and hit nothing but net from the baseline.
Earlier, Kawhi Leonard finished off a 12-4 burst with a 3 to stake the Spurs to a quick 18-10 advantage. They were up 30-28 following a quarter of play and 47-45 at the break.
Game Notes
Popovich is in his 19th season with San Antonio and is currently the longest tenured coach in the four major sports ... Indiana has dropped its last seven home games against the Spurs ... San Antonio turned the ball over just seven times.
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