Fifty-eight points after three quarters isn’t Nuggets basketball. That’s more like a half’s worth of offense for the Nuggets at home since George Karl took over.
But San Antonio’s lane-constricting, shot-restricting ways held up on a Pepsi Center floor that usually plays as fast as the greens at Augusta National. As a result, the Spurs snatched home-court advantage back from the Nuggets on Saturday night in a roughhouse 86-78 victory in Game 3 of the team’s first-round playoff series.
The Spurs’ Manu Ginobili came off the bench to score a game-high 32 points and keep Denver at arm’s length. The Spurs take a 2-1 series lead into Game 4 on Monday night and did so despite a subpar night from their best player, Tim Duncan.
Karl said the pace never turned in Denver’s favor.
“In the first half, free throws and (their) offensive rebounds kept us from getting into a Denver Nuggets game,” he said. “They played very well without Duncan, and Ginobili had just a pretty fantastic basketball game. I thought we fought our tails off in the second half.”
About Ginobili, for whom Denver seemed to have no answer, Karl said: “He hits you as much as you hit him. I think it’s very difficult to defend, referee and watch, unless you’re the San Antonio Spurs.
“I hate complaining about refereeing, but man, on our home court, we got so many tough calls. … We’ve got to win (Monday.) We’ve got to win Game 4.”
Even if they win Game 4, the Nuggets will have to win a second game at San Antonio’s SBC Center to win the series. The Spurs lost only three times at home in the regular season.
The Nuggets are used to more of a home-court advantage, but this playoff game was decidedly different from the typical home game in the Karl era, where the Nuggets went 19-1 and averaged 116.4 points.
San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich credited his team’s transition defense, which once again slowed Denver to a crawl, as it did in Game 2.
“For us, that’s where our defense begins,” he said. “We practice it all year long. Hopefully it continues. If it doesn’t, we’ve got a big problem.”
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NUGGETS WRAP
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Denver got within two points in the fourth quarter, despite horrid free-throw shooting, but back-to-back Robert Horry 3-pointers pushed them back. The first, with 6:37 left, was especially bitter for the Nuggets, because it came after the veteran forward stole a inbounds pass. Denver rallied to get within 81-78 on ‘s fast-break basket, but never got closer. Duncan’s bank shot from the left wing put San Antonio up 83-78 with 52.2 seconds left and iced the game.
Anthony showed his frustration with a flagrant foul on Ginobili that got Anthony ejected with 22.5 seconds left.
“It was just a hard foul,” Karl said. “It was nothing personal.”
Said Ginobili: “I saw the team wasn’t being as aggressive as we were in Game 2, so coming from the bench I tried to change that. That’s my job now coming from the bench, changing the pace and being aggressive. It’s contagious. They start doing the same.”
Horry said he tried to set up the Nuggets on his key steal.
“Earlier in the game, I tried to make the same steal but missed,” he said. “I said, ‘OK, I’m going to play possum again.’ I was just lucky to get the steal.”
While the game was physical with long stretches of missed shots, Horry said: “It wasn’t ugly to us. It’s just getting the home court back. We came in here and got it back after they stole one from us. These guys score 117 points a game at home. We were very proud to hold them below that.”
The Nuggets were rolling at the start, scoring on their first six possessions to take a seven-point lead. Shortly after that, just 3:54 into the game, Duncan collected his second personal foul, sending him to the bench. A cameo appearance for Duncan in the second quarter earned him his third foul; he played just more than five minutes in the first half.
But what looked like a gift from San Antonio turned into a Trojan horse. Duncan finished with just four points and two rebounds for the half, but his teammates still sped from seven points down to 13 ahead with Ginobili leading the charge.
The Nuggets rallied in the third quarter, with starting at the second guard spot instead of Greg Buckner. Down 50-41 to start the period, they let their defense pull them back, holding the Spurs to 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting in the quarter to get within 61-58.
Their defense on Duncan was particularly strong. San Antonio’s all-star shot 5-for-19 for the game for 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Camby helped keep Denver alive with his work on the glass, finishing with 14 rebounds to go with 12 points. Kenyon Martin had his best shooting game of the series, going 8-for-13 for 18 points, while Anthony led the Nuggets with 19 points.
Hitting more free throws would have done Denver a world of good. The team shot a brutal 56.7 percent (17-for-30) from the line.
Game 3
KEY STAT: 17-of-30
Denver’s showing at the free-throw line.
KEY MOMENT: Duncan delivers
Tim Duncan’s patented bank shot from the left side with less than a minute to go put San Antonio up 83-78 and held off a furious Nuggets rally.
REBOUNDS, ANYONE: Board control
With Duncan limited to just five first-half minutes because of foul trouble, San Antonio still outrebounded the Nuggets, 26-16, through the first two quarters. At one point San Antonio held a 26-11 edge in boards. had eight first-half boards for Denver, equaling the entire output of his teammates.
SEE AND BE SEEN: Stars come out
Gov. Bill Owens, Olympic freestyle skier and former University of Colorado receiver Jeremy Bloom, actress Regina King of “Ray” and former Nugget and current Golden State Warrior were among those in attendance Saturday. The Nuggets also brought in Tom Kiefer, lead singer of Cinderella, to sing the national anthem, which he sung a few octaves lower than his typical work with the 1980s metal band. Oprah Winfrey couldn’t make it, but two of her bodyguards did.
BEST
Bench performance: San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili, who came off the bench for the second straight game, torched the Nuggets for 19 first-half points and 32 overall. With honorable mention to Spurs veteran Robert Horry, who scored six points in 38 seconds during a fourth-quarter flurry.
Shot from the hip: Ginobili, who continues to make shots released from seemingly anywhere.
Easily missed defensive work: The Nuggets did shut Duncan down. The Big Fundamental, even with his foul troubles, went blank in the third quarter and had his worst game since returning from a sprained right ankle.
Noise increase: In his first playoff game in Denver, Kenyon Martin had to appreciate the noise in the Pepsi Center vs. what he usually got in New Jersey.
WORST
Blown opportunity: Duncan barely got to play in the first half but the Nuggets watched a seven-point lead dissolve into a 13-point deficit. If they lose the series, they’ll look back at that stretch.
Foul shooting: missed four of his first six and midway through the fourth quarter the Nuggets were 12-of-24 from the line and still had climbed within two points.
Impediment to a comeback: The Nuggets’ penchant for fouling in the second half, which kept putting the Spurs on the line at a time when there were no easy possessions.
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
