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• Spurs head coach Popovich out indefinitely

  The San Antonio Spurs will be without head coach Gregg Popovich indefinitely after he reportedly suffered a health issue prior to the team’s last game.

  The 75-year-old Popovich didn’t coach the Spurs (3-3) during Saturday’s 113-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves due to what the team said was an undisclosed illness.

  Mike Johnson took over as head coach against Minnesota and will remain in the role while Popovich is sidelined.

  “He's not feeling well,” Johnson said prior to Saturday’s game. “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.”

  Popovich is the NBA's all-time leader with 1,391 victories and has won five NBA titles while coaching San Antonio since the 1996-97 season.

• Bickerstaff: Pistons are 'getting better at everything' after big Nets win

  J.B. Bickerstaff believes the Detroit Pistons are "getting better at everything" after bouncing back to beat the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.

  The Pistons suffered a heavy defeat to the New York Knicks on Friday but made it two wins from three with their 106-92 victory over the Nets after they lost their opening four games of the NBA season.

  Detroit finished with six players on double figures, with Cade Cunningham leading the charge with 19 points. It was the second time this season they have had that many players score 13 points or more in a single game, after doing it just once last term.

  And while their attack was impressive, they also held the Nets to just 15 points in the fourth quarter, showing a vast improvement to their defense.

  Bickerstaff was impressed with how his team have grown already since the start of the season.

  "The guys did a great job of bouncing back," Bickerstaff said. "The conversation around the group has been to be better than we were the other night.

  "Every single night we step on the floor, we aim to improve. The guys, just from a grit standpoint, how hard they played and how they shared the ball, it was unbelievable.

  "We're getting better at everything. I feel our guys have embraced the system. They're really competing on that end of the floor. Individually, everybody's taking the challenge.

  "There are still small things systematically, we're going to continue to improve on things. I'm learning what guys are capable of, but guys' willingness to take the challenge has given us an opportunity to put ourselves in a position that now we have a foundation of that, and we can grow from there."

  Malik Beasley, who was another to finish on double figures as he scored 18 points, including two critical 3-point shots, believes their more proactive approach to defending pushed them towards the win.

  "We started the game physical," Beasley said. "Last game, New York came out and just got whatever they wanted to get to.

  "We made a point today to be physical and if we get fouls called early, it is what it is. We need to be known for a grit team, the Bad Boys, that whole thing. We did that [on Sunday]."

  The Pistons are in action again on Monday when they face the Los Angeles Lakers. 

• Australia recover from middle-order collapse to win Pakistan opener

  Australia rallied to overcome Pakistan by two wickets in the first of three one-day internationals between the teams at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 

  Roared on by vocal travelling support, Pakistan were in the ascendency when their pacemen dropped Australia from 113-2 to 115-7, with the hosts chasing 204 for victory.

  Harif Rauf dismissed three while Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Hasnain also got in on the act to decimate the hosts' middle order.

  Naseem Shah had earlier scored 40 off 39 balls to salvage a score of 203 all out for the tourists, but a crucial cameo from captain Pat Cummins got Australia over the line.

  Cummins calmly came up with an unbeaten 32 from 31 balls as the hosts sealed victory with 16.3 overs remaining, with even Sean Abbott's error in being run out for 13 failing to inspire a change in the momentum. 

  Bowler Mitchell Starc told ABC Grandstand after the match: "We probably didn't like that Patty and I had pads on, but it's a positive start to the summer.

  "A win is a win no matter how you get there."

  Data Debrief: Cummins leads from the front

  Cummins' unbeaten 32 may not go down as his most memorable knock in ODIs, but it did equal his best innings for Australia in the format.

  That proved crucial after Matthew Short (1), Jake Fraser-McGurk (16), Marnus Labuschagne (16), Aaron Hardie (10) and Glenn Maxwell (0) disappointed with the bat.

  Australia, who have won both of their ODI series versus West Indies and England since lifting the World Cup in 2023, can now seal a series triumph in Adelaide on Friday.