His Spurs desperately need a couple days off before hosting Houston on Monday night in their Western Conference semifinal.

The Spurs finished the game on a 22-8 run Thursday night after trailing by seven in beating Memphis 103-96 to take the series 4-2. Kawhi Leonard scored 29 points, and Tony Parker added 27.

”I’m seriously thrilled that we were able to get through that first round,” Popovich said. ”That’s the good news. The bad news is that we now have to go play Houston.”

The Spurs advanced by winning on the road, something neither San Antonio nor Memphis had managed against each other all season long. LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 12 rebounds as San Antonio outrebounded Memphis 46-28. They got 16 of those on the offensive boards, leading to 17 second-chance points.

Parker said the Spurs treated this like a Game 7 to make sure they avoided heading home to play a deciding seventh game that had been scheduled for Saturday. That would’ve meant only one day to rest and prepare for the No. 3-seeded Rockets with this semifinal starting Monday night in San Antonio.

”We wanted those days off before playing Houston because it’s going to be a fast-paced game against them,” Parker said. ”They have a great offense, and the key is going to be defense. So we’re going to have to have our legs. I think this win is huge obviously, because we won the series, but even to prepare against Houston.”

For much of this series, Leonard carried the Spurs as he matched or topped his playoff career high in scoring in three of the five games. He also hit his first 42 free throws of this series, the most to start a postseason series in NBA history.

But some of the other Spurs started stepping up as San Antonio turned a 2-2 tie into a series victory. Patty Mills came through in San Antonio’s Game 5 win with 20 points off the bench, and he added another 10 Thursday night. Manu Ginobili ended an 0-of-15 shooting skid with 10 points off the bench in Game 5.

Parker had his best game of the series Thursday night, hitting his first six shots and finishing with 27 points. He also had two rebounds and four assists. The veteran guard, who turns 35 on May 17, was seen icing both feet and his left knee after the game but walked just fine talking to reporters.

He said he talked with Popovich about how the Grizzlies were going under on pick-and-rolls and not giving shots for Aldridge.

”I had to be aggressive,” Parker said. ”That’s a choice that Memphis made. We talked about it last week. They just are going to leave me in the corner 3s and just go under the pick-and-rolls, so I had to be aggressive.”

The Spurs easily swept the Grizzlies a year ago when Memphis had a patchwork roster with Mike Conley and Marc Gasol injured on the bench. Then they lost to Oklahoma City in six games. They agreed this series against Memphis will be much better preparation for what lies ahead.

”It’s an experience that helps you push through the tough times on the floor, and that’s how you gain confidence,” Leonard said.

Leonard said the break also will be good for the older Spurs, plus himself after a very physical series.

”We can just regroup, get our energy back and get our bodies prepared for the next round,” Leonard said. ”It’s going to be tougher.”

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More AP NBA: apnews.com/tag/NBAbasketball

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It didn’t take him long to mention his disdain for the 3-point shot, which is no secret.

So imagine this irony: His Spurs, this season, are shooting the 3 as well as just about any team in league history.

Overlooked, perhaps, in their 30-7 start this season is this. The Spurs are connecting on 41.3 percent of their 3s – on pace to be the third-best success rate since the shot was added to the NBA game nearly four decades ago. Only the 1996-97 Charlotte Hornets (42.8 percent) and last season’s Golden State Warriors (41.6) shot it better than San Antonio has to this point.

”I hate it,” Popovich said that day in Berlin. ”It’s not real basketball.”

Ah, but it can be part of smart basketball, as the Spurs keep showing.

Houston has missed more 3s this season than the Spurs have taken – by a lot, too. Entering Sunday, only Chicago was averaging fewer 3-point attempts per game than San Antonio.

But the Spurs take good ones.

They’re making 45 percent of their corner 3s, 40 percent of ones taken from above the break. And the Spurs are on pace to be the first team in NBA history to shoot better than .400 from 3-point range and .800 from the foul line.

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CONFUSING HAWKS

Kyle Korver has now been traded to the Cavaliers and Paul Millsap will likely be next to leave Atlanta. So if (or when) the Millsap deal happens, the entire starting lineup from the Hawks team that won 60 games just two seasons ago will be gone.

And amid all this change and rumor, the Hawks keep winning.

Atlanta plays at Brooklyn on Tuesday night. Should the Hawks win there, it would be seven straight victories for Atlanta – the longest streak by any team in the Eastern Conference so far this season.

It also would make the Hawks the first team this season to have both a seven-game winning streak and a seven-game losing streak. The Clippers came close, winning seven in a row once and later losing six straight.

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THE WEEK AHEAD

A look at some of the games to watch this week:

– Oklahoma City at Chicago, Monday. Jimmy Butler’s last six games for the Bulls – 34.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 72 for 83 from the foul line.

– Boston at Toronto, Tuesday. Celtics have scored 100 or more in 11 straight games, one away from matching their longest such streak under Brad Stevens.

– Indiana vs. Denver in London, Thursday. The NBA hits London for the seventh time. A 3 p.m. weekday start for fans in Indiana, 1 p.m. for those in Denver.

– Memphis at Houston, Friday. Hard to find two coaches who have done better so far than the Rockets’ Mike D’Antoni and the Grizzlies’ David Fizdale.

– Minnesota at Dallas, Sunday. The Mavs moved up the start, so this game should end about the same time the Cowboys-Packers playoff game kicks off.

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STAT LINE OF THE WEEK

Jimmy Butler, Chicago. As if the 52 points, 12 rebounds and 21-for-22 show at the foul line wasn’t enough last Monday against Charlotte, gander at these: He had 17 points in a fourth-quarter span of 3 minutes, 53 seconds, and his 21 made free throws were more than the Hawks, Pistons, Pacers, Grizzlies, Heat and Magic all totaled in their first two games against the Hornets this season.

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Popovich readily admits ”stealing” plays and strategy from opposing coaches of every level from the NBA to pee-wee basketball. He says Boston’s young coach has always been one of his favorite targets.

”I had already stolen from him plenty,” Popovich acknowledged before San Antonio’s home game against Boston on Friday. The Spurs never trailed in the game, in holding off the Celtics 101-89 after getting a late scare.

Stevens apparently does not mind the theft, often seeking Popovich’s counsel. The two spent an hour together before the league’s coaches’ meetings this offseason, with Stevens looking for advice from the reigning Coach of the Year.

Separated by three decades in age, the baby-faced Stevens and cranky Popovich have bonded over an all-consuming love of basketball and their Indiana roots.

Popovich, 66, has won five NBA titles in 19 seasons with the Spurs. He holds the league record for most consecutive winning seasons at 17 and is one of only nine coaches with 1,000 career victories.

Stevens, 38, is 55-94 in two seasons with the Celtics after a stellar, six-year career at Butler University in his hometown of Indianapolis. He led the Bulldogs to consecutive NCAA runner-up finishes as a mid-major in 2010-11.

”I respected how he does things and what he accomplished way before he even came in the league,” said Popovich, who was born in East Chicago, Indiana. ”Whenever there was a Butler game, I always tried to watch.

”Being an Indiana guy, too, you follow all those teams.”

Stevens broke the NCAA record for most wins in a coach’s first three years at Butler before joining the Celtics in 2013.

It was during those standout seasons at Butler that the baby-faced Stevens caught the attention of the Spurs’ coach. Popovich did not reveal which plays he pilfered on his way to a fifth NBA title, but he professed his admiration.

”Everyone in basketball knew a long time ago before he was in the NBA that he was a heck of a coach,” Popovich said. ”Once he came in, we just gravitated to each other in that respect and being Indiana guys. We just talked in general about the league and what he’s going to be up against and how different the sport is and all that. Obviously, he’s caught on very, very quickly.”

Boston currently is eighth in the Eastern Conference despite trading away veteran stars such as Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo over the past two seasons.

For his part, Stevens does not truly believe any of his sets are being used by arguably the greatest coach in NBA history.

”It’s obviously flattering,” Stevens said. ”He’s a nice guy, he says nice things about people. It’s nice of him to say that.”

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