NBA: Fans Reacting To Tim Duncan's First Win As San Antonio Spurs' Acting Head Coach

In his entire NBA career, coach Gregg Popovich takes charge of giving his main big man a breather on each of their 19 seasons together. Tonight, it was Tim Duncan’s turn to give his mentor to deal with his personal matters.

All eyes were on Tim Duncan as he was tasked as the acting head coach for San Antonio and his first game resulted in a nail-biting 104-103 win over the Charlotte Hornets in Spectrum Center. It was Duncan’s first taste as a coach for the team that he led to five NBA titles.

The Hornets are in a good position to steal the win and spoil Duncan’s coaching debut but an errant Terry Rozier pass was taken by Trey Lyles to preserve the win no. 26 for the Spurs. Dejountay Murray led all scorers with 21 points, six assists, and five rebounds while DeMar DeRozan had 12 points, 10 assists, five boards, and a steal.

Rozier top-scored for the Hornets with his 20 points along with six rebounds and five assists while rookie PJ Washington added 19 points, four rebounds, three assists, and a block but still not enough as Charlotte drops their second straight game.

Staying true to his character on the court, the 43-year old Duncan was still a mild-mannered character on the bench but still able to make necessary adjustments after finding themselves down by 17 by the end of the first quarter, 36-19.

“His confidence and aggression are going up, they’re going again in the right direction and he’s big for us,” Duncan said of Murray’s performance. The Spurs played without big men LaMarcus Aldridge and Jakob Poeltl due to their respective injuries.

Drafted first overall in the 1997 NBA Draft, Duncan was able to pass his first game as the team’s tactician and it seems that the fans are impressed in his performance as the team’s substitute coach.