There are more than enough flowers to go around the locker room after this one. Devin Vassell was the star of the show, dropping 35 points on better than 70% from the field—one of the best games of his career. Julian Champagnie was the hero of the night, notching his third straight double-double and doing the dirty work necessary to win tough games on the road against good opponents.
Champagnie posted 25 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two blocks on Denver last night. He didn't even have his best shooting night, only making 6/15 FG and 3/9 3PT, but his activity got him to the charity stripe, where he made 10/10 free throws.
In the second quarter, the Nuggets were dominating the offensive glass. Their 41-point explosion was largely due to their second-chance opportunities, as the Spurs failed to secure a defensive board eight times. On one of Denver's last offensive rebounds of the quarter, Champagnie can be seen yelling at his teammates to box out. He certainly put his money where his mouth was.
The Spurs' wings are proving to be more dangerous than we knew
It's hard to assemble a roster that has everything: two or three stars, good three-point shooters who can play defense in your starting and bench units, multiple versatile playmakers, big guys who can score while also protecting the rim, etc. It's a lot. But championship organizations find a way to get close to building perfect rosters and then let the talent and coaching take the reins from there.
There's no secret to winning a championship. Everything won't always be perfect, but as a franchise, you do everything you can to put a competitive team on the floor. The players and coaches have to take it from there. The Spurs were never going to start winning games if their guys didn't put in the work. Clearly, they have, and the fans get to reap the rewards as we watch another homegrown player turn into a force.
Devin Vassell now has 2 career games with 35+ points and 7+ threes while shooting 70% from the floor - tying Manu Ginobili for most such games in Spurs franchise history.
— Jordan Howenstine (@AirlessJordan) November 29, 2025
Jules has often been referred to as the next coming of San Antonio legend Danny Green (who's also doing a fantastic job substituting for Sean Elliott on the broadcast). DG's rise to fan favorite was fueled by his three-point shot and effort everywhere else. When you're not the star of the team, you have to find other ways to contribute that the coach can't draw up for you. Champ is doing that.
If the Silver and Black's wings can play like this, this team doesn't really have a ceiling you can reasonably place on them. Winning a win-or-go-home game on the road against the three-time MVP Nikola Jokic was a real gut-check moment. They've been coming out on top of a lot of those.