Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to miss Game 4 against Warriors

Gregg Popovich won’t coach the San Antonio Spurs in their possible series finale against the Golden State Warriors as he grieves the death of his wife.

Spurs assistant Ettore Messina coached San Antonio in Game 3 and will again Sunday afternoon.

Erin Popovich passed away Wednesday from a long-term illness. Gregg and Erin were married four decades and have two children and two grandchildren.

“You know how important Pop is, not only for us players, but the whole organization and the whole NBA,” Spurs veteran Manu Ginobili said after practice Saturday.

“We probably are in a better situation emotionally and hopefully it fuels us. But it’s hard to tell how a team is going to react.” Golden State won 110-97 on Thursday night for a 3-0 lead in the first-round series.

Morris brothers are fined

The NBA has fined Washington Wizards forward Markieff Morris and twin brother Marcus Morris of the Boston Celtics for their roles in separate incidents during playoff games.

Markieff Morris has been fined $25,000 for attempting to escalate an altercation and pushing an official during a game against Toronto on Friday night. Morris shoved official Ken Mauer aside when Morris and Toronto’s OG Anunoby had to be separated during a skirmish that drew other players less than three minutes into the Wizards’ 122-103 victory.

Marcus Morris was docked $15,000 for criticizing officials after the Celtics’ 116-92 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. He was called for a technical foul in the third and was critical of the officiating after the game.

Winslow fined $15,000

Miami’s Justise Winslow has been fined $15,000 by the NBA for attempting to damage Philadelphia center Joel Embiid’s facemask during Game 3 of their playoff series.

Winslow intentionally stepped on Embiid’s mask after it had fallen onto the court with 7:51 left in the second quarter of the 76ers’ 128-108 victory on Thursday night.

The NBA cited Winslow for unsportsmanlike conduct in announcing the penalty Saturday.

Embiid was wearing the mask for the first time after returning from a 10-game absence caused by a broken orbital bone around his left eye.

Philadelphia leads the series 2-1. Game 4 is Saturday.

UPDATES:

6:20 p.m.: This report has been updated with news about the fines for twin brothers Markieff and Marcus Morris.

3:05 p.m.: This report has been updated with news that coach Gregg Popovich will miss Game 4 of the Spurs-Warriors series.

This report was originally published at 8:55 a.m.