San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich ejected 63 seconds into loss to Denver Nuggets
Thursday 4 April 2019 08:54, UK
San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was ejected just 63 seconds into his side’s defeat to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.
Popovich called a timeout after Murray's dunk gave Denver a 5-0 lead and immediately started talking to official Mark Ayotte, who hit him with a technical.
Popovich kept talking as he followed Ayotte and then was hit with a second technical, which saw him ejected for the second time in three games after he was tossed against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Assistant Ettore Messina coached the team the rest of the game but couldn't lead the Spurs to a win as they went down 113-85 to the Nuggets.
Popovich said little about his ejection during his own postgame news conference, insisting that reporters would "have to ask the officials."
But he was more forthcoming when interrupting Nuggets coach Michael Malone's media availability, joking over the incident.
The defeat left the Spurs half a game behind the Oklahoma City Thunder as the duo, who are both already assured of playoff berths, compete for seventh-place in the Western Conference.
