ORLANDO, Fla. — Yes, it is true. Joel Anthony was in the building for one of the most heartbreaking moments in Spurs history.

He was playing for Miami in 2013, when the Heat stunned the Spurs with a dramatic Game 6 comeback in the NBA Finals. He has the championship ring to show for it.

It’s just not something you mention when you’re trying to make a team you once crushed.

“You’re the first one to bring it up,” Anthony said after the Spurs’ 86-81 preseason victory at Detroit on Monday. “Thanks.”

If the veteran forward makes the roster out of training camp, the Spurs will gladly forgive him.

Anthony, 34, is one of five players vying for the team’s final roster spot. He is the only one of the candidates to have logged a second of playing time in the NBA.

Anthony has forged a nine-year career out of raw materials Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has long valued — toughness, defense and rebounding.

He clocked his first 6½ seasons with Miami, under the tutelage of coach Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley.

“When you’ve been with Erik and Pat Riley forever, you have to pick things up and get pretty solid,” Popovich said. “Fundamentally, he’s really good.”

Anthony appeared in 68 games over the past two seasons with the Pistons and became a favorite of Detroit coach Stan Van Gundy.

Nevertheless, the Pistons waived Anthony over the offseason for salary cap space.

Anthony is embracing the dogfight for a spot on the Spurs’ roster.

“That’s what this business is about, competition,” Anthony said. “It’s good. It’s what I’ve always done.”

Going young: Popovich gave Patty Mills the night off Monday in Detroit so he could evaluate the glut of young guards attempting to make the roster.

Wednesday in Orlando, Popovich will rest Tony Parker for the same purpose.

The Spurs closed Monday’s narrow victory over the Pistons with a lineup consisting of four rookies — Nicolas Laprovittola, Patricio Garino, Livio Jean-Charles and Bryn Forbes — alongside newcomer Dewayne Dedmon.

“I didn’t call timeouts,” Popovich said. “If they (the Pistons) get a dunk or make a run, usually I’d call a timeout. But I wanted those guys to live on their own and see how they did.”

The Spurs got key crunch-time shot-making from Forbes, who scored all eight of his points in the fourth quarter. Laprovittola also made a handful of crucial point-guard plays down the stretch.

Simply, the best: When it comes to awarding the final roster spot, Popovich said he doesn’t see an obvious positional need on the roster.

With that in mind, the job will come down to a simple but subjective criterion.

“With this group, it just may be whoever is playing the best and whoever we think is the best player,” Popovich said.

jmcdonald@express-news.net

Twitter: @JMcDosnald_SAEN