DETROIT — DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points, and Gregg Popovich moved another step higher on the NBA’s career wins list as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Detroit Pistons 119-107 on Monday night.

Popovich now has 1,221 victories. He’s tied with Jerry Sloan for third place, trailing only Don Nelson and Lenny Wilkens.

Popovich didn’t seem too happy early on against the Pistons. The Spurs called a timeout with 6:19 left in the first quarter, down 17-9. After a turnover led to a dunk by Detroit’s Andre Drummond, Popovich took another timeout, 14 seconds after the first one.

San Antonio appeared to get the message. A 23-2 run spanning parts of the first and second quarters put the Spurs up 45-33.

It was relatively smooth sailing from there for San Antonio, which led 59-51 at halftime and 84-73 after three quarters.

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 25 points for the Spurs. Blake Griffin scored 34 for Detroit, and Drummond added 19 points and 14 rebounds.

San Antonio was without forward Rudy Gay, out with a sprained left wrist, but the Spurs still won a season-high fifth straight game. Detroit has lost seven of nine.

ROCKETS 125, NUGGETS 113: James Harden scored 32 points, Clint Capela added a career-high 31 and Houston won at home.

P.J. Tucker set a career high with seven 3-pointers and scored a season-high 21 points to help Houston win for the 12th time in 14 games. Capela had 19 points by halftime as Harden fed him again and again when Denver double teamed him behind the 3-point line.

Houston was up by 11 after two free throws by Torrey Craig with about 51/2 minutes left before Tucker and Harden made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to make it 117-100 about a minute later.

BUCKS 114, JAZZ 102: Giannis Antetokounmpo had 30 points and Malcolm Brogdon scored 21 to lead Milwaukee at home.

Thon Maker added a season-high 15 points off the bench for the Bucks, who were coming off a 123-116 loss to Toronto on Saturday night. Milwaukee improved to 28-11, the second-best record in the NBA.

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points and Rudy Gobert had 14 points and 15 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost starting point guard Ricky Rubio to a right hamstring injury less than five minutes into the game. He didn’t return.

The Jazz held a three-point advantage heading to the fourth quarter, but Milwaukee grabbed control late after Brogdon’s 3-pointer pushed its lead to 105-99. The Bucks built the margin to eight with about three minutes left on two free throws by Brook Lopez, who nailed a deep 3 about a minute later to give Milwaukee an 11-point cushion and seal the victory.

Antetokounmpo, who grabbed 10 rebounds, fouled out with 42.9 seconds remaining.

PELICANS 114, GRIZZLIES 95: Anthony Davis had 36 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots, and New Orleans pulled away down the stretch for a victory over reeling Memphis in New Orleans.

Second-year pro Frank Jackson scored a career-high 17 points for New Orleans, which had won two straight for the first time since winning three in a row in mid-November.

Mike Conley had 22 points and 10 assists for Memphis, but that was not nearly enough to stem what is now a six-game slide.

Davis’ thunderous jam on a feed from Jahlil Okafor along the baseline gave New Orleans the first double-digit lead in the game for either team at 76-66 with 2:15 left in the third quarter.

Jackson’s fast-break layup capped a 10-point outburst in a less than three-minute span that included two 3s and a reverse layup, putting the Pelicans up 83-71. And Holiday’s step-back 3 made it 86-73 as the third quarter expired.

NOTES

CAVALIERS: All-Star forward Kevin Love said he’s still weeks away from getting on the court as he recovers from surgery on his left foot.

Love played in just four games before undergoing surgery on Nov. 2 to relieve pressure around his big toe. He was recently cleared by doctors to begin some “select basketball activities,” but Love said Monday he’s not ready to run on the foot, which he injured in Cleveland’s exhibition opener.

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