TORONTO -- Ninety minutes prior to tipoff, the only person in no mood to talk about Gregg Popovich going for 1,000 wins was the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs himself.
"Gimme a break," Popovich said before Sunday night's game, cutting off a reporter before he could even get his question off.
It was typical Pop, amusing himself while on the verge of yet another milestone by being terse with the media and making everyone around him feel uncomfortable.
Hours later, though, he remained stuck on 999 victories.
Popovich's Spurs had their worst shooting night of the season, yet nearly managed to beat the Toronto Raptors anyway.
But James Johnson -- a career 25.8 percent shooter from downtown -- hit a rare 3-pointer with 49 seconds left to give the Raptors an 84-82 lead, and Marco Belinelli and Manu Ginobili missed wide-open triples at the other end. The Spurs needed a 3 to tie with 4 seconds remaining, but Ginobli uncharacteristically threw his inbounds pass out-of-bounds. The final: Raptors 87, Spurs 82.
"To hold a team like that to their season-low 33 percent is admirable," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "It shows how we have to play and grind it out. Guys came in and played, made tough plays, physical plays, plays with force, on both ends of the floor, and that's how you have to play to beat a championship team like that."
As a team, San Antonio went 7-for-28 from beyond the arc, while Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Kawhi Leonard and Ginobili combined to hit 15 of their 57 attempts from the field. It was a combination of solid Toronto defense and missing shots they normally make with their opponents caught in scramble mode.
The Spurs, of course, were entitled to an off night because ever since Popovich inserted himself as head coach 18 games into the 1996-97 season, San Antonio has become the model of consistency in the NBA.
David Robinson's injury-plagued campaign put the Spurs in position to get lucky -- they drafted Duncan No. 1 overall after the pingpong balls fell their way -- and the rest is history.
Seventeen straight playoff appearances. Five championships.
From Robinson to Duncan to Parker and Ginobili to Leonard.
All under Pop, the longest-tenured head coach in any of the four major North American sports.
The greatest feat of his legacy? Being able to adapt as the game changed all while playing in a small market.
"He sticks to who he is, but he's always been flexible," Casey said.
His teams went from being post-heavy to perimeter-oriented, the offense being predicated on quick ball movement and perfect spacing. Yet some things remained constant: the incredible scouting and young player development, the ability to find the diamonds in the rough late in the draft or via free agency or trade. Seemingly always getting the right players who check their egos at the door and fit into his system hasn't hurt either.
"He's kinda the envy of all coaches," Casey said. "I just hope he doesn't get 1,000 tonight."
He didn't.
But eventually, Gregg Popovich will become the ninth coach in history to reach the 1,000-win plateau. It's just a matter of when.
His next chance comes Monday night in Indiana.