For three quarters, the Victor Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs looked perfect. They were playing physically, getting out into the passing lanes, forcing the Denver Nuggets to take tough shots, and getting to the basket at will. But three-quarters of stellar basketball isn’t enough to take down Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. It takes a sustained 48 minutes of near-perfect basketball to beat an NBA Title contender without your best player.
The turning point seemed to come late in the third quarter,
when Jokic was called for an illegal screen on Stephon Castle. A furious David Adelman challenged the call and was given a technical foul. After that, the Nuggets started to get more calls, and the Spurs’ physical advantage disappeared. Denver was able to get into the paint without Wembanyama there to stop them, and the tides turned quickly.
San Antonio didn’t do itself any favors in the fourth quarter. Some of the bad habits that led to blown leads earlier in the season were back with a vengeance on Thursday night. They turned the ball over, allowed the Nuggets to get out and run, and lost the battle in the paint. The game flipped on its head and was over in a flash.
There shouldn’t be a doomsday parade about the loss. Denver is a tough team, and the Spurs were a few bad bounces away from stealing this one without Wembanyama. It is, however, a reminder of what is ahead of them. In the playoffs, teams won’t roll over and die. It’ll take 48 minutes of sustained, near-perfect play to survive and advance.
Takeaways:
- Castle is developing into a star in front of our eyes. He had his third triple-double of the season, and his second with 30 points. Castle bullied the Nuggets for 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. Most importantly, he shot 4-8 from three. While he’s only shooting 31.2% from deep this season, he is hitting 40.5% of his three-pointers after the All-Star break. Maybe it’s a hot streak, or maybe it’s a sign of legitimate improvement. Either way, when Castle is a threat to hit catch and shoot threes, the Spurs offense looks a lot better.
- Harrison Barnes looked great in his return from injury. The veteran had 20 points off the bench on 6-10 shooting from the field. His jump shot looked great, and he gave San Antonio another steady wing who could create some opportunities off the dribble if needed. He’s a key player to get going heading into the playoffs. Thursday was a start in the right direction.
- Carter Bryant continues to impress. He had 10 points in just 9 minutes against Denver. He still looks a bit awkward out there at times, particularly when he is forced to put the ball on the deck and drive to the basket, but he is finishing at the rim better than he has all season and is knocking down three-pointers. Bryant is knocking down 37.8% of his threes after the ASB.
- It was a true neutral performance from the newest Spur with the best nickname in basketball, Mason “Plumdog Millionaire” Plumlee. He grabbed two rebounds and had two steals while scoring 0 points and having a 0 +/-. He fits well in the Spurs scheme as a third big. He’s adept at dribble handoffs, sets good screens, and is a solid defender on the other end.
- I’m not one to typically complain about officiating, but it was uneven at best on Thursday. You know it’s bad when BOTH head coaches got a technical for complaining about calls.
