San Antonio Spurs Pull a Wire-to-Wire Win Against the Nuggets
Photo by Michael De Leon
San Antonio Derrick White had 23 points, Lonnie Walker IV added 21 and the San Antonio Spurs never trailed in beating the Denver Nuggets 123-111 on Thursday night, snapping a two-game skid.
Dejounte Murray added 20 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for San Antonio, which is in the middle of a five-game homestand.
“it was a good, competitive night. A lot of guys played well.”
Photo By Sanket Chaudhry
For the San Antonio Spurs, turnovers at one end and not playing would have been one bad combo for them and probably would’ve cost them the game. Luckily that didn’t happen. The Spurs dominated, scoring 45 points on 3-pointers and 58 from inside the paint. The Spurs also had 32 assists, two shy of matching a season-high, while their shooting percentage was 52%. The Spurs also did what they always do and opened the game 4 for 5 on 3-pointers in building a 22-12 lead. They set a season-high with 37 points in taking an eight-point lead after the first quarter. But of course, it was amazing watching The Spurs take on Jokic and watch how much they took the lead.
Even though The Spurs were without starting their forward Keldon Johnson due to a sprained ankle, they finally had Devin Vassell return from a three-game absence.
“I thought we did an as good job as we could possibly do on Jokic, he’s amazing. ”
Photo by Nikos Lagouretos
Nikola Jokic had 22 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists for his third straight triple-double and his fifth of the season for Denver. The Nuggets entered the game third in the league defensively, limiting opponents to 104.5 points per game, but had no answers for the Spurs. Although the Nuggets played a fair game, for them It was unofficially double-digit blows for probably 20 and more points. With the Spurs Murray, White, and Walker coming off the bench and on the court, The Nuggets couldn’t seem to shake the difference having them out there made, which showed on the court.
Even though the Nuggets pulled within two baskets on multiple occasions, they could never lead while trailing by as many as 18 points. The Spurs definitely had them on their heels, and every fan knows that’s the worst feeling in the world of basketball. The Nuggets tried everything they could to get back into it by trying to make a couple of fast breaks but just couldn’t seem to sustain anything.
Jokic had 13 points in the second quarter, rallying Denver within 69-65 before The San Antonio Spurs scored five straight close to halftime. The Spurs set a season-high for any half with 74 points in the first and matched another one with 37 points in the second quarter.
The Spurs and the Nuggets go up against each other yet again on Saturday on San Antonio’s home court. All The Spurs have to do is play exactly like they did last night in order to keep their winning game strong. As for the Denver Nuggets, they have to correct the mistakes they made in order to stand a chance against San Antonio’s Murray, White, and Walker if they’re looking for a victory on Saturday.
