Stephon Castle and the Spurs let one slip away (Photo via X)
Playing without Victor Wembanyama, the San Antonio Spurs failed to hang on to their big lead against the Denver Nuggets and ultimately lost by a final score of 136-131. The Spurs were up by as many as 20 points but Denver’s championship level mettle propelled the Nuggets to a 42-25 fourth quarter to snatch the win in San Antonio.
Stats: Spurs vs. Nuggets
spurs nuggets grades
Spurs vs. Nuggets – Final Grades
De’Aaron Fox
The good: Fox scored an efficient 27 points. He was 6-for-9 on two-pointers and 4-for-10 on three-pointers. His passing was really good, finishing with nine assists in 36 minutes. When Fox is aggressive, he has been very difficult to stop lately. The bad: Fox had four of the team’s ten turnovers. Prior to this game, he had been on a streak of taking great care of the ball. Against the Nuggets, he also only hit half of his six free throw attempts. Defensively, he was efforting but his actual impact was minimal.
Grade: B
Stephon Castle
Castle posted one hell of a stat line versus the Nuggets. In 35 minutes, he had 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. He shot 7-for-15 from the field, including 4-for-8 from deep. He was 12-for-13 at the charity stripe and turned it over only twice. I also thought he played really hard on the defensive end. Unfortunately, Castle will probably remember this performance for the late three-pointer he missed that could have tied it. But, overall, it was this second-year guard who successfully stepped up in the absence of Wembanyama and he should be proud of this performance.
Grade: A-
Devin Vassell
Vassell was 4-for-10 on threes, 4-for-5 at the free throw line but only 1-for-4 on two-pointers. He ended up with 18 points in 32 minutes. He hit big shots and was letting it fly with confidence, so all in all he had to be considered a plus on the offensive end. Defensively, he was competing well for much of the evening. He limited his mistakes on both sides of the court, which has become a trend for him as of late.
Grade: B+
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie did well enough in his 23 minutes. He hit half of his four three-point attempts and pulled down seven boards. His rebounding continues to be a bright spot this season. Movement-wise, Champagnie looked a step slow. I don’t know if he’s dealing with an injury but he has looked slower than usual in the last few games. That could be a reason why his minutes were limited.
Grade: B-
Luke Kornet
Kornet just hasn’t been nearly as productive as of late as he was earlier in the season. Filling in as the starting center in place of Wembanyama, he failed to move the needle. He didn’t score in his 25 minutes. In fact, he didn’t even attempt a shot. His also posted only three rebounds and failed to tally an assist. Kornet was pretty active on defense, finishing with two blocks and two steals, but the volume level of his vivacity is near the minimum.
Grade: C-
Harrison Barnes
Back from an ankle impingement, Barnes looked rejuvenated. He had 20 points off the bench, hit 2-of-5 threes, 4-of-5 twos and 6-of-7 freebies. He was also much better on the boards than usual, totaling seven in 27 minutes. His defense wasn’t always pristine but he did seem to have an extra bit of pep in his step. Let’s hope we continue to see this version of Barnes going forward.
Grade: A-
Dylan Harper
Harper had a very productive 24 minutes — and he could have done even more if it wasn’t for an apparent calf injury that slowed him down. Harper was able to come back into the game but he had limited burst. He was still able to total 13 points, five assists, five rebounds and a block. He shot well, he limited his mistakes and the rookie was playing with an even higher basketball IQ than normal. Let’s hope Harper stays healthy because he is a bigtime weapon for this squad off the bench.
Grade: B+
Keldon Johnson
Regrettably, this was a poorly timed sour performance by Johnson. With Wembanyama sidelined, the Spurs could have used a vintage outing. Instead, Johnson scored only 5 points on 2-for-12 shooting from the field. He was being physical but hit only 1-of-7 two-pointers and failed to get to the charity stripe. He was rebounding, limiting his mistakes and passing better than usual but none of that made up for his inefficiency scoring-wise.
Grade: D+
Carter Bryant
This definitely counts as a step in the right direction for the rookie. Yes, there were moments where Bryant looked unsure and uncoordinated with the ball — but the end results were positive. He finished with ten points in only nine minutes while also bringing energy on defense and on the boards. In truth, Bryant has a legit claim that he should have played more minutes. When he was on the court, he was a clear difference-maker.
Grade: B+
Mason Plumlee
With Wembanyama out, Plumlee got his first real minutes for the Silver and Black. I liked what I saw. He didn’t shoot in his eight minutes but he grabbed a couple boards, flashed fast hands to swipe a pair of steals, and knew where to be and who to pass it to within the offense. It’s safe to already say that Plumlee is an upgrade over Biyomo as a third string center. He plays a similar style to Kornet, which makes it seamless for his teammates to adjust to what he brings to the table.
Grade: B+
Mitch Johnson
Coach Mitch had his guys ready to play and they looked great early on. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to stem the tide when things started going bad for the good guys. He was pushing buttons but couldn’t find a working combination. More of Bryant might have helped but, yeah, it’s not a surprise that the Spurs had trouble hanging onto this one without Wembanyama in the lineup.
Grade: C+