SAN ANTONIO — There are times the Nuggets have played well in San Antonio.
They have kept things close or even led. They have pushed the Spurs much more than they’ve wanted to be pushed.
But winning?
That finishing touch has been more elusive. Much more elusive.
It has been six games covering two years since the last time the Nuggets won at the AT&T Center. And the Spurs, led by guard Tony Parker’s 25 points, weren’t about to let that streak end Wednesday night.
The Nuggets were game, but the Spurs were better and kept the visitors at arm’s length most of the night to grab a 109-98 victory.
“We don’t have the firepower they have,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said of the Spurs. “That’s a very good offensive team. That’s a very good defensive team.”
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Knowing the Spurs (9-2) were waiting for them was part of the reason the Nuggets (6-6) put so much emphasis in winning at New Orleans on Tuesday. Getting a victory at San Antonio is difficult enough, much less trying to get one on the second of a back-to-back set.
“Give a lot of credit to our guys on the back-to-back,” Malone said. “They kept competing, fighting, clawing back, not letting it get too far away. We just kind of ran out of gas.”
The Nuggets’ main problem was slowing down the Spurs.
It’s difficult to corral the Spurs’ offense, because there’s so much read and react in their system.
Eventually, that grind, led by Parker, wore down the Nuggets.
“I thought Tony Parker was able to live in the paint,” Malone said. “He got into the paint at will.”
Parker got his 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field and added nine assists.
Parker controlled the court, and behind his leadership in the third quarter, the Spurs put some distance between themselves and the Nuggets. They opened up a 17-point lead, and from there it became about lead management.
The Nuggets were led by Nikola Jokic’s career-high 23 points and 12 rebounds. Not that he was impressed.
“I think it doesn’t matter, really, because they scored 109 points,” Jokic said. “That’s too much. They had too many open shots. We must do better on defense. Offense will come.”
Nuggets guard Gary Harris, in one of his most aggressive games of the season, finished with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He attacked the rim constantly all night and was rewarded for his efforts with layups and other high-percentage shots.
The Spurs supported Parker with 17 points from reserve guard Patty Mills, as their point guards outscored Denver’s duo of Emmanuel Mudiay and Jameer Nelson 42-12.
“That’s definitely a championship-contending team,” said the rookie Mudiay. “We’ve just got to come out, execute and play better defense.”
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or @dempseypost
