San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is out indefinitely while recovering from an illness.

San Antonio announced Popovich did not travel with the team on its current road trip at the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday and at Houston on Wednesday. The Spurs host the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

Mitch Johnson will serve as interim coach during Popovich’s absence.

Johnson was informed about 2 1/2 hours prior to Saturday’s tipoff against the Minnesota Timberwolves that the 75-year-old Popovich was unavailable because of an undisclosed illness.

“He’s not feeling well,” Johnson said. “This has happened before. I think everybody’s just always got to be ready for the next man up. We’ve had it with injuries and sometimes people get sick or don’t feel well or things come up in life. He’s just not feeling well.”

It marked the third time Johnson has served as head coach in Popovich’s absence. Former assistant coaches Tim Duncan and Becky Hammon have also served as Spurs head coach because of an illness or medical procedure for Popovich in the past five seasons.

Daniels denies making gun gesture at Pelicans

Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels rejects the notion that he pretended to spray gunfire toward former teammates after hitting a 3-pointer in front of New Orleans’ bench during a 126-111 victory over the Pelicans on Sunday night.

“I was just telling them all that it was worth 3 points,” Daniels said, noting that when he extended his right arm toward the Pelicans’ bench area, his thumb and two other fingers were extended, representing 3 points.

When told his gesture also appeared to resemble a gun, Daniels said, “It might have looked like it, but I was just telling them it was worth 3 points. You know, pointing at them all, that’s all it was. I was making sure they all knew how many points it was worth.”

The NBA has handed down some high-profile fines for gun gestures in the past decade, including $35,000 to Josh Jackson in 2017 and $25,000 to Gerald Green in 2015.

Meanwhile, Ja Morant was suspended 25 games in 2023 for waving an actual gun during a social media video.

Some on the Pelicans’ bench appeared to ask officials to assess Daniels a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“I didn’t get one. So, the ref was right,” said Daniels, an Australian whom the Pelicans made the eighth overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. “I was just out there having fun. I was hoping to hit a 3 in that corner so I could let the bench know about it. It was a game I had circled on my calendar.”

Daniels and Hawks forward Larry Nance Jr. were traded last offseason from New Orleans to Atlanta as part of a deal that brought point guard Dejounte Murray to the Pelicans. Murray did not play on Sunday night, having been sidelined four to six weeks by a broken hand during New Orleans’ first game of the regular season.

Briefly

Warriors >> Golden State star Stephen Curry returned to the lineup Monday after missing three games because of a left ankle injury.