MIAMI — The Spurs will be punished by the NBA for their decision to send four top players home and not make them available to play in last night’s 105-100 loss to the Heat.
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said the decision to rest Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green — the core of the Spurs — was in the team’s best interest. The league wasn’t happy about it, and commissioner David Stern promised that San Antonio would be penalized.
“I apologize to all NBA fans,” Stern said. “This was an unacceptable decision by the San Antonio Spurs and substantial sanctions will be forthcoming.”
Stern’s statement was released roughly the same time as tip-off for the nationally televised game, which the Heat rallied late to win. Ray Allen’s 3-pointer with 22.6 seconds left gave the Heat the lead, and they held on to remain perfect at home this season. Down by one, LeBron James nearly lost the ball in the lane, then recovered and found Allen — who has already hit three late-game 3s to help Miami win at home this season, all set up by the reigning MVP.
Before the game, Popovich said he decided to sit his core when he saw how challenging this particular part of the schedule was for his team. Last night’s matchup ended a six-games-in-nine-nights swing for the Spurs, who won their first five on the trip.
“Everybody has to make decisions about their schedule, about players playing and back-to-backs and trips and that sort of thing,” Popovich said before the game. “In our case, this month we’ve had 11 away games, after tonight. We’ve had an eight-day trip and a 10-day trip, and we’re ending it with four [games] in five nights here. I think it’d be unwise to be playing our guys in that kind of a situation, given their history.”