Gregg Popovich called a timeout, walking straight across the court from his bench in a flurry of anger. He pointed to a fan in a blue-collar shirt in the second row and asked him to come to the game.
that fan? Hall of Famer David Robinson.
Turns out, the Spurs didn't need him - securing a game over the Lakers in the race for one of the final play-in tournament spots with a 117-110 victory over San Antonio.
The win links Popovich with Don Nelson for the most NBA coaching wins with 1,335 regular-season wins.
There were a lot of great players at the Spurs-Lakers game in San Antonio on Monday night, and like Robinson, most of them weren't in uniform.
Just as Popovich wished he could be Robinson in a game patrolling the paint, Lakers coach Frank Vogel just had to look at his bench for the players he wanted to use - a group that included LeBron James was involved.
James pulled out of the game against the Spurs, two days after he had a swollen and sore left knee, scoring 56 points in a win the Lakers desperately needed against the Golden State Warriors.
"Every time we win and get some momentum, something happens," said Russell Westbrook.
Injuries cost James five games that began in late January and have since been listed as "suspicious" on the team's injury reports. The Lakers, Vogel said, expect James to return on Wednesday against the Houston Rockets.
"With the heavy lifting he's doing for us this year, we know it's always a possibility. I think that's why we continue to list him as a suspect to see if it's going to be a game-changer." How is Beech responding in 48 hours," Vogel told Pregame. "And this is just one of those days where it was important enough to keep him out."
Without James, and of course Anthony Davis and Kendrick Nunn, the Lakers needed balanced production to challenge the Spurs, but when their offense performed well enough, the Lakers couldn't get enough stops.
"A lot of scrambling," Westbrook said.
Vogel, using a mostly smaller lineup, said the Lakers struggled to contain the Spurs on a one-off drive.
And when the team showed up to fight, there was no "moral victory," he said.
The Lakers were forced to chase down the Spurs, who shot better than 50% off the ground and led 14 for almost the entire game.
And while they were briefly able to take a one-point lead, the Lakers couldn't get enough big plays down the stretch.
Westbrook scored 17 runs to go with 10 rebounds and six assists. Carmelo Anthony and Malik Monk scored 17 each and Talen Horton-Tucker scored 18 runs to lead the team.
Spurs' young All-Star guard, DeJonte Murray, led the all-around with 26 points, with the other four San Antonio starters each leading them in double digits.
The Spurs are now four games behind the Lakers in the loss column.
"You can't control injuries or anything like that, but it's frustrating," Monk admitted.
Pregame, Popovich said that Murray is learning how to take on a team's burdens on a nightly basis, pointing to James as the best example.
"They are the most valuable professionals in the league," Popovich said. "It's a huge responsibility for the people who have to bring it. Think about how many years LeBron has brought it night after night. People think it's easy because he's a good player. It's between the ears." It's as much as anything else for these people."
Popovich continued to praise James for his longevity - playing his own game with minimal celebration after tying Nelson's coaching record.
"I've admired LeBron from day one," Popovich said.
On Monday, the Lakers certainly missed James in crunch time, with the team unable to keep up with the smaller, bigger Spurs, who pushed through the finish in the fourth quarter, keeping the Lakers on only 18 points.
“He shot more shots than us. He took even better shots than us,” said Monk. “…He played a little smarter than he was down the stretch.”