San Antonio – After ending the Nuggets’ season with a 99-89 victory in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series Wednesday, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich made his opinion clear: Future Nugget opponents won’t get off so easily.
“I’m glad that’s over. Those guys are really good,” he said of a Nuggets’ team that engineered one of the NBA’s great second-half turnarounds under coach George Karl. “I’m not just saying that to blow smoke at them. George has done a hell of a job. They’re talented. They’re deep. They’re sharing the ball and I’m thrilled we beat them.”
And, Popovich added, “They won’t be a seventh seed next year.”
When told of Popovich’s prediction, forward , who led all scorers with 25 points in Game 5, said Denver ought to be good enough for a top-four finish and the home-court advantage that comes with it this time next year.
“We’re not going to be in the same position we’re in next year,” he said. “I can say that.”
Karl added that he sees a team not that far away from contending for a championship.
“It has a very good base,” Karl said. “I’ve already started writing training camp notes for next year.”
As for the present, Game 5 again showed the Nuggets as a team willing to keep fighting even in dire circumstances, but one with less experience, cohesion and defensive know-how than San Antonio.
The Spurs, who pulled away in the fourth quarter only to have to fight off a late charge, advance to face the Seattle SuperSonics in the Western Conference semifinals starting Sunday.
Popovich credited his team’s defense against Anthony and his team’s ability to stop Denver’s transition game as the big keys. Anthony shot 9-for-19 Wednesday but a quiet 26-for-64 in the other four games. Again the Spurs excelled in the latter two categories in Game 5, outrebounding the Nuggets 45-35 and holding them to 17 assists.
Down 3-1, the Nuggets showed no signs of acting like the end of their season was a foregone conclusion. They led 65-64 late in the third quarter. But the Spurs pulled away using 3-point shots and superior inside play.
San Antonio depended on its standard stellar trio of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, who finished with 18, 21 and 18 points, respectively, and got an added boost from veteran playoff star Robert Horry, who finished with 17 points off the bench. Once again, Denver could not stop San Antonio’s inside-outside game.
“Rob just hangs around the entire season until the playoffs,” Duncan said. “Just shows up. That’s his time.”
San Antonio’s bench outscored Denver’s 42-14, another key to the series. Karl said his reserve corps was not the same without its “glue,” Eduardo Najera, who again sat with a broken bone in his right shooting hand.
As for the Spurs, Karl said, “Tim Duncan is just a strong, powerful force and Ginobili and Parker are getting to be studs. Their role players know who they are and know what’s expected of them.”
Even as the game escaped them late, the Nuggets did not roll over, pulling to within six in the final minute. When (10 rebounds) left the game with 1:49 left in his team’s season finale, he protested, saying, “I want to go down with the ship. I want to go down with the ship.”
Despite the bitter end, the Nuggets sounded optimistic notes about what they might do when they get a full preseason of work with Karl, who arrived Jan. 27 to spark a 32-8 march to the playoffs.
“We left it all out there tonight,” Anthony said. “This is a beginning for us.”
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or at athompson@denverpost.com.
