Through the muck of multiple fouls, San Antonio had answers Monday night. Their names were Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. As usual.
When the Spurs needed the points, needed the energy, needed the poise, Duncan and Parker stepped up front and center at the Pepsi Center.
The duo accounted for 68 points in San Antonio’s 126-115 overtime victory and consistently kept the Spurs at or near the lead when the Nuggets pressed most.
“Whatever you throw at them, they have the counter,” Nuggets coach George Karl said.
In the fourth quarter, Duncan made clutch shots and pressure free throws to keep the Spurs in striking range. In overtime, Parker and Duncan made San Antonio’s first three shots, getting the Spurs out to a 6-0 run to start the extra period.
Parker, who scored 29 points, hit a 3-pointer with 1:40 left in overtime to give the Spurs a 118-109 lead and enough cushion to pull away with the victory that puts the Spurs on the brink of moving on to the second around.
“I really love Tony’s play because he was aggressive,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “He just competed his fanny off. He didn’t worry about anything.”
It was Duncan’s best game of the series, which the Spurs lead 3-1 entering Game 5 on Wednesday. He had 39 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out with 2:55 left in overtime. He battled all night, displaying nimble feet and improved lift off a sprained right ankle that had hampered his effectiveness in the series.
“He played a good all-around game tonight,” Popovich said. “He’s starting to look more like himself, just a lot more confident in his body.”
Duncan started quickly with eight points in the first quarter and improved on that total in the second quarter with 10 points. His 18 points at halftime were seven more than the 11 he finished with in Game 3.
Parker’s resurgence was similar.
The point guard hit just 3-of-12 shots in Game 3 and finished with 10 points. But he had 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting through three quarters of Game 4 and made a pressure jumper with the game tied and time ticking down.
But Duncan’s and Parker’s performances weren’t the only answers the Spurs came up with.
Their free-throw shooting turned out to be pivotal. San Antonio, which has been notorious for being shaky at the free-throw line, hit 39-of-45 attempts (86.7 percent) in Game 4. Duncan, who came into Monday’s game shooting just 54 percent at the line, hit 13-of-14 free throws.
Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, the star of Game 3 with 32 points, was held in check in Game 4. He scored 12 of his 24 points at the free-throw line.
“That’s certainly an aberration,” Popovich said. “But we’re happy to accept it. We wouldn’t have gotten it done if we hadn’t done that tonight.”
Chris Dempsey can be reached at 303-820-5455 or cdempsey@denverpost.com.
