点击查看原文：San Antonio at Denver, Final Score: Spurs let last road game of the season slip away, 136-134
San Antonio at Denver, Final Score: Spurs let last road game of the season slip away, 136-134
The San Antonio Spurs came up short in one of their final tests of the regular season, ending their win streak at 11. The Nuggets are battle-tested, deploying the top offense in the NBA, and they were the better team in the crucible.
Nikola Jokić feasted in the lane, but the Spurs couldn’t be stopped from getting there, either. It also helped that they kept their groove going in most of the non-Victor Wembanyama minutes, and the Nuggets weren’t as strong with Jokić resting. Still, it was a close game that required overtime, and the difference was the Spurs losing control and going cold after Jokić checked in for the last time.
Observations
This is as good as it gets to a playoff appetizer. Thirteen 3-pointers came in the first quarter as both teams showed high-level horsepower and the level of physicality increased as the game went on. The stakes were high for both teams as the Spurs had a chance of catching the first seed, and the Nuggets are trying to maintain home-court advantage in round one of the playoffs.
The Nuggets had the Spurs on the ropes in the third quarter, and they survived thanks to Julian Champagnie, Wembanyama and Stephon Castle putting the offense on their shoulders. The three of them combined for seven baskets in that span, yet the Nuggets went on a big run late in the period with them on the bench, cutting the Spurs’ lead to four going into the fourth quarter. The Spurs took advantage of the non-Jokić minutes, but the script flipped, and they were put in too many scrambles.
Nikola Jokić is the best player in the world, and making him work on defense is a necessity because he doesn’t want to guard anybody. The Nuggets tried to hide him on the smaller players, but the Spurs did a good job of going at him.
Wembanyama and Castle each had two fouls in the first quarter, but they didn’t let that affect their aggression and they continued charging into the paint. Wembanyama’s activity generated 11 of his 17 free throw attempts in the first half. On top of that, his presence was a big reason why the Nuggets struggled to score in the lane. Still, Jokić outplayed him in crunch time.
Christian Braun was the guy the Spurs left open to clog the lane, and he made five 3-pointers. Despite the production, he was the right player for the Spurs to try that against because he’s been awful on open and wide-open attempts this year.
Jokić took an accidental smack to the face by Wembanyama in the first quarter, and then took a shot to the upper chest by Keldon Johnson late in the second. He usually comes out like a madman after getting battered and bruised, and he finished with 40 points on 52 percent shooting.
The Spurs have been almost unbeatable when they score at least 70 points in the first half. After this loss, their record drops to 15-3.
De’Aaron Fox had five baskets in the fourth quarter, but he made a huge mistake, causing a four-point play by lunging at a shooter, which cut the team’s lead to two points late in the game. He also missed some critical shots in overtime.
