The San Antonio Spurs announced Friday that coach Gregg Popovich has undergone a minor medical procedure and will miss the team’s next two games.

Popovich, 73, did not coach the Spurs’ Friday night home game against the New Orleans Pelicans and also will miss a Sunday home date with the Phoenix Suns. The Spurs then have three days off before their next game, also at home, against the Houston Rockets, when Popovich is expected to return.

Brett Brown is coaching the team in Popovich’s place.

Popovich was at the Spurs’ arena Friday and conducted his normal pregame press availability.

Popovich is the winningest coach in NBA history (1,350). He has led the Spurs to five NBA titles, but the rebuilding franchise entered Friday having lost nine straight games and 14 of the past 15.

–Field Level Media

Zion Williamson racked up 30 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists and keyed a decisive third quarter run as the visiting New Orleans Pelicans swamped the reeling San Antonio Spurs 117-99 on Friday.

The loss was the 10th straight for the Spurs, their longest losing streak since 1989 when they dropped 13 straight. San Antonio has not won since Nov. 11 and has one win in its past 16 games.

The Pelicans were down by three points at halftime and by 67-63 with 4:22 to play in the third quarter before Williamson scored nine straight points to give New Orleans the lead. San Antonio scored just four points over the final four-plus minutes, which ended with the Pelicans ahead 81-71 on strength of an 18-4 spurt.

Jonas Valanciunas added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Pelicans, who have won three straight. Trey Murphy III had 17 points and Naji Marshall and Jose Alvarado hit for 15 each.

Devin Vassell led San Antonio with 25 points, with Keldon Johnson scoring 15, Charles Bassey adding 11 and Keita Bates-Diop and Romeo Langford tallying 10 apiece.

The Pelicans played without Brandon Ingram (left toe injury) while San Antonio was missing starters Jakob Poeltl (right knee) and Jeremy Sochan (right quad) and key reserves Josh Richardson and Doug McDermott (right ankle sprains).

The Pelicans led for all but two short stretches of the first quarter, going up 23-13 on Murphy’s 3-pointer at the 3:39 before San Antonio rallied to take a 23-23 lead on Langford’s jumper with 20.7 seconds left. Marshall’s three-point play in the final second gave New Orleans a 26-24 edge after one period.

New Orleans led by 10 points on two different occasions in the second quarter before the Spurs found their stride, scoring the final nine points of the period capped by a 3-pointer by Vassell with 50.4 seconds remaining to sweep to a 52-49 advantage at the break,

Vassell’s 16 points before halftime led all scorers while Johnson hit for 11 for San Antonio. Williamson paced the Pelicans with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the half, with Valanciunas scoring 11 points.

The third quarter had nine lead changes, the last when New Orleans rode nine straight points from Williamson to leapfrog to a 72-69 advantage at the 2:09 mark.

–Field Level Media

Ja Morant scored 28 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 22 as the Memphis Grizzlies withstood a late charge to beat the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 117-109 on Friday.

Dillon Brooks had 17 points for Memphis, which led by as many as 18 early in the fourth quarter. Santi Aldama had 13 points, Brandon Clarke added 10, and Steven Adams tallied nine points and 16 rebounds.

Joel Embiid led Philadelphia with 35 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, while Tobias Harris added 21 points and 11 rebounds. Shake Milton scored 17 points and De’Anthony Melton had 13.

Memphis has won nine straight home matchups against Philadelphia, which used a 14-6 run to pull within 111-106 with 3:01 remaining.

The Grizzlies regained control with four straight points and secured the victory in dramatic fashion when Jackson blocked Embiid’s dunk attempt with 25 seconds left.

The Sixers have lost two straight following a three-game winning streak. Harris finished 5 of 6 from 3-point range but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.

Philadelphia carried a 30-29 lead into the second quarter, but quickly fell behind when Memphis opened with a 13-2 run.

Morant scored 20 points on 9 of 18 shooting in the first half to pace the Grizzlies, who led 64-54 at the break. Embiid and Harris had a combined 31 points for the Sixers.

Memphis held a 92-76 advantage after closing the third quarter on a 10-2 run.

Jackson finished with nine rebounds and four blocks for the Grizzlies, who improved to 8-2 at home. Adams had six assists, three steals and three blocks while battling Embiid near the basket for much of the contest.

After committing a season-high 27 turnovers in Wednesday’s 109-101 to the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Grizzlies had 12 against the Sixers.

Philadelphia starters James Harden and Tyrese Maxey remained out with injuries. Harden (right foot tendon strain) is targeting a return on Monday against the Houston Rockets.

–Field Level Media

Anthony Davis scored 44 points and LeBron James added 28 as the Los Angeles Lakers won a back-and-forth affair against the host Milwaukee Bucks 133-129 on Friday.

It was a thrilling battle between the stars on both sides. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 40 points for Milwaukee with Jrue Holiday adding 28. Russell Westbrook was also a big factor for Los Angeles, finishing with 15 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds off the bench.

James and Davis took over for the Lakers in the fourth quarter, scoring 28 of the team’s 32 points. James finished the night with 11 assists and eight rebounds, while Davis grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots.

Khris Middleton made his long-awaited season debut for Milwaukee, finishing with 17 points on 6-for-11 shooting and dishing out seven assists. He played 26 minutes in his return from wrist surgery.

The lead changed hands six times in the final period, with Los Angeles going on top for good on a James 3-pointer with 3:32 to go.

The Lakers were up by five with a minute left before Lopez scored with 48.9 seconds to go.

Milwaukee had a golden opportunity with 18.2 seconds left when Grayson Allen missed a wide open 3-point attempt to tie it. After Westbrook then missed both free throws, Holiday also got a look from deep and came up short as Davis grabbed his 10th rebound.

Davis sank one foul shot to seal the win.

The Lakers led 66-58 at halftime. Davis had 23 points in the half on 11-for-14 shooting while Los Angeles hit 56 percent from the floor as a team while dishing out 17 assists and committing just three turnovers.

Los Angeles got the lead as high as 14 in the second period, but Milwaukee was able to move in front for a short time with seven minutes left in the third. A Holiday 3-pointer put the Bucks up 79-77.

At the end of the third, the Lakers led 101-97 and both teams were shooting better than 54 percent from the field.

The energy in the building skyrocketed with two plays in the fourth. Antetokounmpo blocked a James attempt at the rim in transition, and shortly after, Brook Lopez blocked an attempt from Davis at the rim leading to an Antetokounmpo dunk on the other end.

With his ninth assist of the game and the 10,142nd of his career, LeBron James passed Magic Johnson for sixth on the NBA’s all-time leaderboard.

–Field Level Media

Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points and Evan Mobley collected 19 points and 13 rebounds to fuel the host Cleveland Cavaliers to a 107-96 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday.

Mitchell highlighted his performance by scoring 16 points in the first quarter and 13 in the third. He made 12 of 21 shots from the floor — and 7 of 11 from 3-point range — for the Cavaliers, who improved to 10-1 at home this season and dropped the Magic to 1-10 on the road.

Darius Garland chipped in 18 points and six assists to send Cleveland to its seventh win in its last nine games.

The Cavaliers also benefited from the returns of Kevin Love and Lamar Stevens.

Love recorded 11 points and as many rebounds off the bench in his return from a hairline fracture of his right thumb sustained during Cleveland’s 132-122 double-overtime win over the Charlotte Hornets on Nov. 18.

Stevens scored eight points in his return from a four-game absence due to a non-COVID-related illness.

Rookie Paolo Banchero scored 22 points and Cole Anthony added 19 off the bench for the Magic, who have lost seven in a row overall. Moritz Wagner collected 16 points and nine rebounds and Franz Wagner added 16 points.

Mitchell highlighted his third-quarter performance by sinking a pair of 3-pointers during a 92-second span to boost Cleveland’s lead to 76-62. Love and Mitchell each had a layup and Cedi Osman added a basket to push the Cavaliers’ advantage to 20 points with 1:26 remaining in the quarter.

Caleb Houstan, Anthony and Franz Wagner each made a 3-pointer and Moritz Wagner added a bucket to help Orlando trim Cleveland’s lead to 97-89 with 3:37 remaining in the fourth quarter. Mobley and Garland responded by converting from beyond the arc on the next two possessions for the Cavaliers to essentially seal the win.

Mitchell made 6 of 8 shots from the floor — including 3 of 5 from 3-point range — to stake Cleveland to a 27-25 lead at the end of the first quarter. Banchero sank 4 of 7 shots from the floor to keep Orlando within striking distance.

–Field Level Media