San Antonio Spurs Destroy Denver Nuggets Despite Nikola Jokic's Triple-Double
The San Antonio Spurs dominated their game against the Denver Nuggets, taking a commanding lead throughout, and rolled to a 123-111 win on Thursday night.
According to NBA.com, San Antonio Spurs guard Derrick White dropped 23 points, and his co-star Lonnie Walker IV added 21 points to give the Spurs another win against a titan in the Western Conference.
San Antonio Spurs Outplay Denver Nuggets At Home
The young Spurs team proved that they could go toe-to-toe against the giants in their conference as they never trailed in beating the Nuggets team led by reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, snapping their two-game skid.
Another Spurs guard, Dejounte Murray, also had a big night against the Nuggets. Murray added 20 points, dished nine assists, and grabbed eight rebounds for the team from San Antonio.
Despite the big night of the Serbian big man, the Spurs dodged a bullet from Nikola Jokic, who dropped 22 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and dished 10 assists for his fifth triple-double so far this season for Denver, but his numbers still fell short.
His co-star Aaron Gordon added 25 points, and Will Barton had 19 points in the scoring department. However, the Nuggets team was not able to stop the Spurs on the defensive end.
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San Antonio Spurs vs. Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets pulled within two baskets on several occasions, but they never led while they trailed by as many as 18 points.
The Nuggets team entered the game third in the league defensively, limiting their opponents to 104.5 points per game. The team from Denver still missed their key players due to injury.
P.J. Dozier and Michael Porter Jr. were both out for the season, while Jamal Murray is still out indefinitely following knee surgery.
The Denver Nuggets finished their previous 10 games with a 3-7 record who played their games without Austin Rivers due to health and safety protocols.
San Antonio opened the game with 4 for 5 on 3-pointers in the building, which resulted in a 22-12 lead. The Spurs team set a season-high with 37 points in taking an eight-point lead after the first quarter.
Nikola Jokic rallied for Denver within 69-65, but the San Antonio team scored five straight to close the half and gained control. The San Antonio Spurs set a season-high for any half with 74 points in the first and matched another high with 37 points in the second quarter.
San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich allowed his young roster to play on despite turnovers. The Spurs rewarded Popovich's faith when Tre Jones outplayed several taller defenders to tip out a missed shot to Murray, who drained a 3-pointer for a 100-90 lead, extending the lead to double digits to close the third and pull away in the game.
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Written by: Jess Smith
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