Maybe Gregg Popovich had a premonition of what was to come, or perhaps he just had early dinner reservations.
Either way, the San Antonio Spurs’ coach stuck around for all of 63 seconds Wednesday night before he drew two technical fouls and an ejection for barking at officials.
It was probably better he didn’t see what Denver’s offense would ultimately do to his defense, cutting and dishing and swishing its way to a 113-85 win at the Pepsi Center.
“Fourth-best defense since the all-star break and then you get your offense going, this is a team that we envision going into the postseason that’s going to allow us to be a really dangerous team,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “We had so many examples of guys passing up good shots to get great, finding ways to get their teammates open.”
The win trimmed the Nuggets’ magic number to one for clinching home-court advantage in the first round. It also ensured No. 3 Houston, taking on the on Wednesday, didn’t gain any ground on the Nuggets, who have four games left.
was masterfully efficient in picking apart the Spurs’ defense, both with his interior game and his vision. Nearly all of his 20 points came from inside the paint, and he finished just one assist shy of his 13th triple-double of the season.
was equally important. He flirted with his first career triple-double, finishing with 14 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. The Nuggets recorded a season-high 41 assists on 47 field goals, improving to an NBA-best 11-1 on the second night of back-to-back sets.
Neither LaMarcus Aldridge nor DeMar DeRozan was able to gain a foothold against a strong Nuggets defense. San Antonio shot just 5-for-27 from 3-point range, and Denver’s lead ballooned to as many as 30 points in the fourth quarter.
On the heels of Tuesday’s drubbing to the Warriors and with the Nuggets still jockeying for playoff positioning, Wednesday wasn’t the day to be coy. If the Nuggets meet the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, don’t expect any newfound wrinkles from Denver to confuse Popovich’s side.
“We need a win, man,” Malone said. “I’m not a magician. I don’t have cards up my sleeve, nothing like that. We need a win. We’ve got to find a way to play better basketball. We got blown out in Indiana, we got blown out in Houston, we got blown out (Tuesday) night. The time for hiding stuff and playing close to the vest, now is not the time for that.”
Having lost four of six games entering Wednesday, Malone was almost at a loss for how to correct the offensive woes aside from continuing to be aggressive.
“I’ve never been a part of a team that had as many players at once struggling to make shots,” Malone said. “Yeah, we’re getting pretty good shots, but I wouldn’t mind us being a lot more aggressive to the basket.”
To that end, the Nuggets finished the first half with 32 points in the paint and displayed an offense that was far less isolation-heavy and more predicated on movement and pace.
After Tuesday’s underwhelming offensive showing against Golden State, the Nuggets poured it on the first half against the Spurs. They spread the ball around for 22 assists in the first half, one shy of their entire total from the loss to the Warriors, and built a 61-43 lead.
Murray conducted the offense with poise and purpose, finishing with 12 points and eight assists over the first two quarters. And when he needed a spell, backup offered his services with 11 points.
Jokic seemed eager to prove a point and was dominant aside from a few turnovers. Perhaps his half — 12 points, eight rebounds — was a byproduct of the rest of the team’s offensive rhythm. At least for a night, the burden wasn’t on Denver’s franchise star.
