SAN ANTONIO —
Postgame
The Spurs went to Denver without their All Star and picked up one of their most impressive wins of the season against the reigning MVP's team.
With the win, San Antonio's magic number to make the play-in tournament is just one. The next time San Antonio wins, or the Lakers lose, the Spurs will secure the 10 seed over Los Angeles.
Six Spurs scored in double figures, led by Devin Vassell who scored 12 of his 20 in the first quarter, and Keldon Johnson who scored to for the seventh game in a row.
San Antonio built a 20-point halftime lead, but Denver cut it to just four in the second half before the Spurs put it away. San Antonio moved to 34-45 on the season, making it almost impossible for the Lakers to pass them in the standings.
Game Story
First quarter
Nikola Jokic scored inside to open the game, and Jakob Poeltl scored but picked up two quick fouls defending the big MVP. Zach Collins came off the bench just 90 seconds into the game.
Devin Vassell made a tough jumper in close, and Collins floated a pass over the top to Keldon Johnson for a layup.
Collins scored on a roll to put the Spurs in front as Denver struggled to hit shots, missing 8 of their first 10. Collins stole a pass, Keldon finished in transition, and the Nuggets called timeout down 11-7. Denver hit a few threes, but Devin Vassell swished a pair of deep shots himself.
Josh Richardson stole it from Jokic, and Vassell got transition free throws. Vassell missed a shot, but dunked home the miss to make it 10 points in a row for him.
Collins hit a jumper in the paint, but Denver hit another three and Pop called time up 23-20. Denver lost one of those triples on a review.
Denver went zone and blocked J-Rich, but he got it right back and dunked it.
Jokic got a couple of baskets and set up a deep three that put the Nuggets up.
Keita Bates-Diop cut through the zone for a basket, then Richardson hit a pull-up deuce. Jokic answered, Richardson drained a three, and Jokic scored again to get to 17 first-quarter points.
San Antonio led 32-20 after one.
Second Quarter
KBD tipped in a miss to start the second, then former Spur Bryn Forbes got one to go. Tre Jones hit free throws and the Spurs got a stop inside, then another, then another, then Jones hit a floater.
Keldon hit a three, Jones got another floater to go, and Vassell hit another three to put the Spurs up 12. Collins scored after that timeout to make it 14.
Jokic got mad, Nuggets coach Mike Malone picked up a technical, Collins got a putback, and the Spurs went up 17.
Denver got a few, but Aaron Gordon whiffed on an oop and KBD finished a fundamentally-sound layup on the other end. Collins swished a free-throw line jumper, then bodied up Jokic for a stop. Tre Jones scored at the rim in transition to make it 18.
Jokic got a technical, Richardson hit the free throw, and Jones got yet another floater to make it a 21-point advantage. Jones drove and got free throws at the buzzer, making it 64-44 at halftime.
Third Quarter
Jakob Poeltl scored, but the nuggets scored three baskets and Pop called a quick timeout. Denver cut it to 14 before Poeltl posted up and scored over Jokic.
Primo blocked Jokic from behind, and Keldon hit a three after missing his previous two attempts.
Denver went on a 7-0 run to cut San Antonio's halftime lead of 20 in half, and Pop called another timeout. Keldon drove through the lane for back-to-back buckets.
Jokic hit a stepback, then lobbed it in to AG. Keldon responded with a strong layup through contact. Lonnie Walker IV came in and promptly hit a pull-up three, but Will Barton hit a pair to cut San Antonio's advantage to 7.
Walker hit a contested corner three, but Jokic drove inside for a bucket. Denver scored in transition to make it six, and Pop called an angry timeout. Devin Vassell canned a pull-up jumper from the stripe, and Zach Collins grabbed an offensive board and won the jump ball.
San Antonio led 85-79 after being outscored 35-21 in the third.
Fourth Quarter
San Antonio got a bucket from KBD to start the final period. Denver scored four in a row, cutting San Antonio's lead down to just four. Devin Vassell stepped out to the arc, pulled up, and hit a three through a physical closeout.
Tre Jones jumped in for a big steal and took it coast to coast for a lay-in. Malone called time with the Nuggets down nine.
Josh Richardson hit a deep three, then Zach Collins scored on a rolling and-1 off a bounce pass from Primo. Richardson hit a corner three to make it a 16-point game.
Poeltl dunked on a sick feed from Tre Jones, who hobbled a bit afterward but took a charge on the next sequence. Richardson hit another three to make it a 19-point advantage with 3:09 to play.
The Nuggets fouled Jakob Poeltl until they couldn't anymore, and then Jakob Poeltl jumped higher than he ever has for a huge alley-oop slam to ice the win.
Pregame
The San Antonio Spurs (33-45) will visit the Denver Nuggets (47-32) tonight as the Spurs will look to maintain their standing in the NBA Play-In Tournament at No. 10.
The Spurs are 1-2 against the Nuggets this season and this will be the final meeting between the teams this season. Before the game, Gregg Popovich had high praise for Nikola Jokic and provided an update on a couple of injured players on his side.
Pop said Jock Landale may be back for the next game, but Dejounte Murray is a little more improbable.
In their previous game, the Spurs beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 113-92.
Keldon Johnson had 28 points to lead the team while guard Tre Jones added 18 points in the win. San Antonio also scored 30-plus points in the second and third periods to seal the win over Portland.
“Very good second half. First half, the focus just wasn’t there. I thought that the Trail Blazers played hard, physical in the win for all 48 minutes. Luckily, we woke up at halftime. We came out in the second half and did a good job defensively, board-wise, took care of the ball, and ended up with the win," said Head Coach Gregg Popovich.
Here are five things to watch for in tonight's game:
1. The Nuggets have won eight-straight games at home versus the Spurs.
2. The Spurs have won four-straight road games.
3. Denver is 18-1 at home when leading after the first period.
4. Spurs have committed fewer turnovers than their opponent in eight-straight games.
5. Denver is 4-1 in their last five games.
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