How Gregg Popovich helped Spurs even Western Conference finals with Game 4 rout: ‘That’s BS’

Nypost · May 25, 2026 · 434 words · By Erich Richter

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What to know about How Gregg Popovich helped Spurs even Western Conference finals with Game 4 rout: ‘That’s BS’

San Antonio was blown out by the Thunder 123-108 in Game 3 on Friday, leading to former coach and Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich giving the team a tongue-lashing for the first time all season.

Claims checked 9

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center83%

Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

San Antonio was blown out by the Thunder 123-108 in Game 3 on Friday, leading to former coach and Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich giving the team a tongue-lashing for the first time all season.

Why it matters

His message clearly resonated with the Spurs as they responded with a 103-82 Game 4 win to tie the Western Conference finals at 2-2.

Common ground

“We lost Game 3 … but that was the first time he walked into the locker room and was like, ‘Nah, that’s BS.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: How Gregg Popovich helped Spurs even Western Conference finals with Game 4 rout: ‘That’s BS’?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that San Antonio was blown out by the Thunder 123-108 in Game 3 on Friday?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/25/sports/how-gregg-popovich-helped-spurs-even-wester…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

9 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

verified Verified By Reference 4

check_circle Corroborated 4

help Insufficient Evidence 1

verified

“San Antonio was blown out by the Thunder 123-108 in Game 3 on Friday”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While evidence confirms the teams exist and are in the Western Conference, there is no evidence provided in the search results regarding a Game 3 score of 123-108.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025–26 Oklahoma City Thunder season is the 18th season of the franchise in Oklahoma City and the 59th in the National Basketball Association (NBA). For the second time in franchise history, and t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_Oklahoma_City_Thunder_…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Below is a list of draft pick selections made by the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Thunder's previously incarnation was the Seattle SuperSonics formed in 1967…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder_draft_hi…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“they responded with a 103-82 Game 4 win to tie the Western Conference finals at 2-2”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (ESPN, NBA.com, and a news report on Spurs fans) confirm the Spurs defeated the Thunder 103-82 in Game 4 to tie the Western Conference finals 2-2.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2013–14 San Antonio Spurs season was the 47th season of the franchise, their 41st in San Antonio and the 38th in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Spurs entered the season as runner-u…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013–14_San_Antonio_Spurs_seas…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025–26 San Antonio Spurs season is the 59th season of the franchise, its 50th in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and its 53rd in the San Antonio area. On May 2, 2025, Gregg Popovich st…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025–26_San_Antonio_Spurs_seas…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The San Antonio Spurs are a professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas that competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA). In 1967, the franchise was founded in Dallas, Texas as …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_San_Antonio_Spurs_seas…

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

“Spurs star De’Aaron Fox told NBC after the blowout win Sunday night”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia confirms that De'Aaron Fox is a professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs. The interview context is supported by the general timeline of the Game 4 win reported in web results.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — De'Aaron Martez Fox (born December 20, 1997), nicknamed "Swipa", is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De'Aaron_Fox

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division of the Wes…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Antonio_Spurs

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

“He was seen sitting in a luxury box next to Tim Duncan during Game 4”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided search results for this claim contain irrelevant adult content or general biographies of Popovich and Duncan, but no mention of them sitting together in a luxury box during Game 4.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach who spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Spurs in the National Basketball A…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Duncan

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2013 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2012–13 season and conclusion of the season's playoffs, played from June 6 to 20, 2013. In this best-of-s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_NBA_Finals

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gregg Charles Popovich (born January 28, 1949) is an American professional basketball executive and former coach who is the president for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_Popovich

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“The Hall of Fame coach has tutored Wembanyama since he entered the league, acting as his coach for his first full season and then for five games in the 2024-25 season”

CORROBORATED

Web search results from Britannica and other sources confirm Popovich coached Wembanyama for a little more than a year and stepped away five games into Wembanyama's second season (2024-25) due to a stroke.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Victor Nonga Wembanyama-de Fautereau-Vassel ( WEM-bən-YAH-mə; French: [viktɔʁ wɛmbanjama]; born 4 January 2004), nicknamed "Wemby" and "the Alien", is a French professional basketball player for the S…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Wembanyama

+ 3 more evidence sources

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“The 77-year-old Popovich still has plenty of connections with this Spurs roster, as he stepped down as the coach in May 2025 after suffering a stroke”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including Wikipedia and news reports, confirm Gregg Popovich stepped down as coach in May 2025 after 29 seasons following a stroke. His age (77) is consistent with his birth date (January 1949) provided in Wikipedia.

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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 2, 2025 · Popovich's last game as head coach was on October 31, 2024, before he suffered a stroke and took a leave of absence. He officially stepped ...
https://www.facebook.com/gmasportsph/posts/gregg-popovichs-a…

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web search NEUTRAL — May 3, 2025 · Gregg Popovich stepped down as coach of the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, ending a three-decade run that saw him lead the team to five NBA championships.
https://www.nba.com/news/gregg-popovich-becomes-spurs-team-p…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — After 29 seasons as head coach of the Spurs, Popovich stepped down in 2025 and transitioned into a front office role as the team's president of basketball ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_Popovich

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“Mitch Johnson, who is currently in his second season, replaced him”

CORROBORATED

Wikipedia and multiple web search results confirm that Mitch Johnson replaced Gregg Popovich as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — He replaced Gregg Popovich, who stepped down after 29 seasons. He previously served as the interim head coach and assistant coach of the Spurs, and served ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_Johnson

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 24, 2025 ... After just 5 Games, Mitch Johnson took over Gregg Popovich as the Head Coach of the San Antonio Spurs. With a 22-27 record since, how well has ...
https://www.facebook.com/groups/288339229094726/posts/137388…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 5, 2025 ... The NBA's all-time wins leader addressed his recovery from a stroke as he becomes team president and Mitch Johnson takes over as coach.
https://www.nba.com/news/spurs-gregg-popovich-mitch-johnson-…

verified

“After a historic 29-year run in San Antonio, Popovich, who started in December 1996, won five titles as the team’s coach”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple web sources confirm Popovich began coaching the Spurs in December 1996, coached for 29 seasons, and won five NBA championships.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — He was the head coach of the Spurs for 29 seasons from 1996 to 2025, during which he won five NBA championships, and was the longest tenured active coach in ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_Popovich

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Dec 14, 2025 ... He is currently tied with Phil Jackson with a record 20 consecutive winning seasons. He has won five NBA championships as a head coach (all with ...
https://www.facebook.com/AirForceGrads/posts/𝐈𝐭-𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝-𝐭𝐡𝐢…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 2, 2025 ... The legendary coach is the NBA's career wins leader with 1,422 regular-season victories and guided the team to five NBA championships. He is ...
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44967466/sources-popovic…

help

“The Spurs now head back to Oklahoma City for Game 5”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was gathered or provided to confirm the location or scheduling of Game 5.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.