If any triumph can be a positive turning point in the season for the Denver Nuggets, who lately have been losing more than winning, then it was certainly this one against San Antonio 136-131!
Jokić and the team came back after the convincing lead of the Spurs, who dominated from the very start of the game, at some moments even having a 20-point advantage.
But tonight Denver was patient, waited for its moment, wore the opponent down, and then in the 4th quarter shifted into 5th gear and from -13 at the very start managed in the end to win by +5!
Jokić practically kept the connection alive by himself in the first three quarters, but the biggest contribution to the comeback still came from Jamal Murray, who simply exploded in the last 10 minutes and finished the game with a total of 39 points (7 ast), while also shooting free throws a fantastic 15-15.
The Serbian ace recorded another abnormal triple-double, his 26th of the season: 31 points (shooting 17-9, for three 6-2), 20 rebounds, 12 assists and 3 steals!
In the second half Jones (19), Johnson (15) and Strawther (10) also found their rhythm, which helped the aforementioned duo turn the game to the visitors’ side and secure the second derby victory in two nights, after the convincing triumph over Houston.
It should be pointed out that the hosts played without their best player, Victor Wembanyama, but that does not diminish Denver’s triumph because San Antonio this year has already won many important games without him on the court.
In the team without the main star the best were Castle with a triple-double (30p, 10as, 11reb), then Fox with 27 (9as), Barnes with 20 (7reb) and Vassell with 18 points.
After this game the Nuggets occupy 5th place in the West with a record of 41-26, while the Spurs remained second (48-17).
If Denver continues in this rhythm it could easily happen that in the end it will be third in the Conference, which means that in the playoff semifinals it would face tonight’s opponent, so this victory in the end may also carry great psychological weight.
But until the playoffs, as the saying goes… who lives – who dies!
For a start, Jokara, Murray and the guys in two days face another tough road game in Los Angeles, where a direct rival for a high spot before the playoffs awaits them, led by Luka Dončić and LeBron James.
Only with that victory would tonight’s one in San Antonio gain real significance.
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Source: Antonije Kovačević Foto: