Johnson was informed about 2.5 hours prior to Saturday’s tipoff against the Minnesota Timberwolves that the 75-year-old Popovich was unavailable due to an undisclosed illness.

“He’s not feeling well,” Johnson said. “This has happened before. I think everyone just has to always be ready for the next guy. We’ve had it with injuries and sometimes people get sick, don’t feel well or things happen in life. He just doesn’t feel well.”

It was Johnson’s third time serving as head coach in Popovich’s absence. Former assistant coaches Tim Duncan and Becky Hammon also served as Spurs head coach for the past five seasons due to an illness or medical procedure for Popovich.

San Antonio defeated Minnesota 113-103 on Saturday.

Popovich is the NBA career leader with 1,390 wins and another 170 postseason wins while winning five NBA titles. He is in his 29th season, all with San Antonio.