Spurs vs. Pelicans GAMEDAY: Gregg Popovich to Return After Illness Scare

After going winless on a five-game road trip, the San Antonio Spurs will take on the New Orleans Pelicans at AT&T Center on Wednesday.

The San Antonio Spurs return home after finishing a winless five-game West Coast road trip. Since beginning the season with a 5-2 record, they've gone just 1-10 in their last 11 games.

In the Spurs' previous outing, they lost 123-92 to the Los Angeles Lakers despite LeBron James not being available to play. Devin Vassell (17) and Keldon Johnson (13) both failed to reach the 20-point threshold and Jakob Poeltl was sidelined from the game due to injury. 

"We have a young team. Winning is hard in the NBA," said Gorgui Dieng, who started in Poeltl's spot. "They're learning. Whether you win or lose, just make sure you have the right habits. Tonight was a very bad game for us."

Gregg Popovich was unable to coach the Spurs in their loss to the Lakers. He was as late of a late-scratch as it gets. Brett Brown found out "20 seconds" before tipoff that he would be filling in for Popovich, who was too ill to coach. 

The Pelicans are coming off a 128-93 win over the Golden State Warriors in game that featured the opposition resting their key players.  

"Golden State didn't have their guys tonight," Pelicans coach Willie Green said afterward. "We just needed to play to our standards. We need to respect our opponents. We just needed to play our style. I thought we did that tonight. It's good to get a win."

INJURY REPORT (SPURS): Blake Wesley - Out (MCL Sprain), Josh Richardson - Doubtful (Ankle Soreness), Jakob Poeltl - Questionable (Knee Soreness), Zach Collins - Probable (Lower Leg Contusion),

INJURY REPORT (PELICANS): Trey Murphy III - Doubtful (Foot Contusion), E.J. Liddell - Out (ACL Injury Recovery)

RECORDS: San Antonio Spurs (6-12), New Orleans Pelicans (10-7)

WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. CST

WHERE: AT&T Center (San Antonio, TX)

TV: KENS5, NBA League Pass

RADIO: Spurs Radio - WOAI 1200

ODDS: -7.0 Pelicans

LAST WORD: Brett Brown on the Spurs' road trip

"The end of a long road trip, five games in seven nights, is always going to be difficult," Brown said after Sunday's loss. "We're better than we played (Sunday). They have competed at a far greater level than they did tonight. We will respond. They're a prideful group."

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