SAN ANTONIO — Gregg Popovich can't win like the old days. No longer can the San Antonio Spurs simply feed Tim Duncan the ball, let their defense do the rest and ride that game plan to NBA championships.
But the new way Popovich has them winning isn't bad, either.
That acknowledgment came Tuesday when Popovich was honored as the NBA's Coach of the Year after leading San Antonio to 50 wins and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. The Spurs defied naysayers who have written them off as too old since their last title in 2007 and did so in a lockout-shortened season that tested every coach when it came to managing minutes and finding practice time.
"If you can draft David Robinson and follow that up with Tim Duncan, that's a couple of decades of very, very possible success unless you just screw it up," Popovich said. "So it's hard to take credit when circumstances have gone your way so consistently."
Popovich also won the award in 2003 when San Antonio won its second of four championships, and he might be headed for a fifth ring if the Spurs keep this up.
STOUDEMIRE HAS SURGERY, TO MISS GAME 3: Amare Stoudemire had a small muscle repaired Tuesday and will not play for the New York Knicks in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat.
The Knicks announced that Stoudemire met with a hand specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, a day after he cut his left hand when he punched the case surrounding a fire extinguisher after the Knicks' 104-94 loss in Miami.
Stoudemire apologized on his Twitter account for the act, which leaves the Knicks without another key player as they try to rally from a 2-0 deficit.
NETS GM CONFIDENT WILLIAMS WILL STAY: Nets general manager Bill King believes All-Star point guard Deron Williams will join the team in its new home in Brooklyn after exploring free agency this summer.
"I feel pretty good," King said. "I haven't wavered all year in my thought process with this. I think he and I understand what I've got to do and where we've got to get to."
BUCKS' SKILES TO RETURN: Scott Skiles will return to coach the Milwaukee Bucks next season.
Skiles has a year left on his contract, which was extended in 2010.