San Antonio – The Nuggets couldn’t have picked a better time to have their best defensive quarter of the season.
For three quarters Sunday, San Antonio got good shots, and kept a small lead for most of the way, having hit 50 percent from the field to that point.
Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker seemed to be having their way in Game 1. Considering the Nuggets are known more for their offense than their defense, the Spurs seemed to be in good position, though they led only 75-73 after three quarters.
And, when the Spurs hit their first three shots of the fourth period to take an 81-76 lead, Denver coach George Karl called a timeout. It looked as if the Spurs were ready to pull away.
Not so fast.
The Nuggets held San Antonio to one field goal the remainder of the game, a meaningless 3-pointer by Robert Horry near the end.
“The pressure is on when everything is on the line,” Nuggets forward said. “We (had) our best defensive effort, and we had to.”
San Antonio went more than 10 minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter.
Nuggets coach George Karl, asked to explain what happened, said, “(The Nuggets) like playing defense in the fourth quarter more than they like to do (the rest of the game).”
“We were just more aggressive,” Martin said. “We didn’t stop on plays. We didn’t quit. We kept coming.”
Karl said guard , signed as a defensive stopper, put the clamps on Ginobili.
The Nuggets also altered their defense on the pick-and-rolls by making sure to get to Duncan quicker. Duncan also received several double-teams in the fourth.
The strong defense also made up for the fact that the Nuggets shot just 31.6 percent in the fourth quarter and had their own prolonged drought.
“We played excellent in the fourth quarter,” Martin said. “We came out and did what we had to do to get the win. That’s what you have to do in playoff basketball.”
The Spurs made 30-of-60 shots through three quarters and hit all 13 of their free throws. Ginobili had 20 points, Duncan 18 and Parker 12. All seemed in rhythm. San Antonio had 14 layups on 21 first-half field goals, after all. Then it all stopped, with the Nuggets putting on their best defensive showing since holding New Orleans to eight points in a quarter on Nov. 29.
Sunday night, San Antonio missed 17-of-21 shots in the fourth quarter and 4-of-5 from beyond the arc.
“Going 4-for-21 is not going to get it done,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Ginobili was limited to three points on 1-of-5 shooting and missed two 3-pointers. Duncan was scoreless on seven shots, while Parker was scoreless on two shots.
“Ginobili, Duncan and Parker are the heart of their team,” Nuggets forward-center Nene said. “The soul of the team.”
Marc J. Spears can be reached at 303-820-5449 or mspears@denverpost.com.
