The San Antonio Spurs upset the vulnerable Nuggets in Mile High Denver, claiming the top record in West Group C and giving them direct entry into the knockout rounds of Emirates Cup play. Everyone now owes Devin Vassell lunch after his clutch performance, and now the players have the opportunity for some extra dollars because advancing to the quarterfinal means that each member will win at least $53,093 if they go no further, and the two-way players get half of that.
Both teams came out hot and there were very few misses early on. The good guys were able to endure Jamal Murray’s first-quarter flurry because De’Aaron Fox was finding cutters and shooters. Then the bench chipped in with an efficient 13 points while adding four steals. San Antonio headed into the second up eight, and even though their threes weren’t really falling, they put up the most the Nuggets have yielded in any quarter this season (41).
The Nuggets took the lead four minutes later as the Spurs misfired on a bevy of opportunities, and their offensive struggles persisted until halftime as Denver gave them little space to operate on pick and rolls. The hosts went on a 15-0 run, and it quickly turned into one of those nights they wished they had Wemby to slow down Jokic, because the Serbian was dissecting the Spurs defense with his savant-like passing.
San Antonio was down 15 points after the Nuggets had their highest-scoring first half of the season (74). Sixteen of Denver’s 18 second-chance points were in the second quarter. The lid came off the Spurs basket, and they were eventually able to re-take the lead late in the third even though the Nuggets were still on fire from deep, with seven treys.
As the fourth quarter started with the Spurs down one, Vassell and Tim Hardaway Jr. started trading 3-pointers. Harrison Barnes and Keldon Johnson got in on the action, taking a two-point lead before Jokić checked back in. The Nuggets were in the bonus the last four minutes, but the Spurs were bailed out by four Denver turnovers, Murray missing a pivotal free throw with under two minutes left, and Vassell burying two 3-pointers late. The Spurs won 139-136, and had a 30 for 32 performance from the line to (and Devin) to thank for it.
* The Spurs scored at least 40 in the first (41) and third (44) quarters and were down by as much as 18 in the second half. Vassell was so deadly, he could “shoot a needle off a cactus,” and he ended the night scoring 35 points on 70.6 percent shooting, and was the best player in the second half. The next leading scorer was Julian Champagnie, who added 25 points, including a perfect 10 for 10 at the line.
* The Spurs were targeting Jokić on screen rolls to take advantage of open space. It resulted in drive-bys inside the lane and passes over the top of the defense. But Nikola’s offense more than makes up for his weaknesses defending. He wasn’t Denver’s go-to scorer, but his actions as a screener and passer created so many options that Denver had plenty of looks while the visitors’ defense was scrambling.
* Kornet was the only big man with size and strength to make things uncomfortable for Jokić at close range, yet he lacked the maneuverability to make stops. Sochan got time guarding him next, and Jokić muscled and finessed around him. On top of that, Jonas Valančiūnas was too much to handle as he seized real estate for rebounds. He was so problematic that the Spurs fouled him thrice hunting a loose ball after a shot.
* Dylan Harper plays like a veteran who rarely makes the wrong read. He had a part in getting the Spurs back in the game in the second half when it looked bleak.
* The Spurs shot an immaculate 11 shots in the lane in the first quarter, but their job got harder as they continued to face a set defense, in part because Denver kept getting to the line. The second quarter was subsequently a disaster for the Spurs as they were outscored by 23. They looked like a boxer with no pop on their punches, and were lucky they had Vassell to pour in almost half of their shots, or it would have been uglier. Still, they threw up enough bricks to lay a good foundation for a new Silver and Black arena before their halftime instruction.
* This was a top-shelf Kentucky guard match-up between Fox and Murray for about one quarter. The former was a playmaker for others early and the latter didn’t have to be more than scorer because Joker is the best setup man in the game, so he downed jumpers and layups like a madman. Murray followed up in the second half raining jumpers, making it even more one-sided, despite the two of them not guarding each other most of the game.
* The Spurs had their drought, but their half-court offense eventually got rolling in sixth gear, scoring 116.7 points per 100 possessions, good enough for the 93rd percentile, per Cleaning the Glass.
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