Denver Nuggets (50-28) beat San Antonio Spurs (59-20) 136-134 at home on Saturday, April 4 in overtime.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Spurs struck first, taking the opening quarter 43-36 and a 7-point lead after one. The teams matched each other with 29 points apiece in the second quarter; the Spurs still led by 7 at halftime.
The Nuggets won the third 27-24 to stay in front, taking a 4-point lead into the fourth. The Nuggets answered with a 32-28 fourth quarter, forcing overtime at 124.
The Nuggets finally separated the teams in overtime, winning it 12-10 to close out a 136-134 victory.
What decided it
The Nuggets took better care of the ball, turning it over on 5.5% of possessions compared with 9% for the Spurs. The Nuggets got more from their shots, finishing at 57.9% effective field-goal shooting compared with 54% for the Spurs. In a 2-point game, those extra possessions were crucial.
The Spurs did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 25% against 17.4%. The Nuggets made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 110 possessions per team, the Nuggets produced 123.9 points per 100 possessions to 122.1 for the Spurs.
Who stepped up
Nikola Jokic was the game's biggest individual force for DEN: 40 pts, 8 reb, 13 ast, 3 blk on 13-25 shooting. His Game Score of 39.3 led everyone. His team was +12 with him on the floor.
Victor Wembanyama led the Spurs with 34 pts, 18 reb, 7 ast, 5 blk on 8-17 shooting, good for a 38.3 Game Score.
Nikola Jokic (40 pts, 8 reb, 13 ast), Jamal Murray (15 pts, 4 reb, 10 ast), and Victor Wembanyama (34 pts, 18 reb, 7 ast) each recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 42% for the Nuggets.
Across the last 5 meetings in our records, San Antonio Spurs lead 3-2.
The Nuggets are now 50-28, and the Spurs are 59-20. The Nuggets last five before this game: W-W-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.