Spurs start slow, claw their way back, but ultimately fall to the Nuggets in Austin

03/15/2024 11:10 PM

The Spurs made it a game after a terrible first quarter before running out of gas against the defending champions.

The Spurs couldn't gift the Austin crowd a win. After a disastrous first quarter, the Silver and Black made it a game for a while against the defending champions, but eventually the Nuggets stepped on the gas pedal and cruised to a 117-106 victory.

It wasn't surprising to see the matchup start a bit chaotically and sloppy, considering Nuggets coach Michael Malone had said that there was "a preseason feel" to the game in Austin. Both teams looked like they were trying to adjust to a court that wasn't familiar, with Denver looking sharper early. The visitors dominated inside on both ends while the Spurs relied on outside shots to keep pace. As soon as those looks stopped falling, things got ugly. Turnover allowed the Nuggets to run and they started to hit some jumpers of their own. Very quickly, a game that looked close became an exhibition of the reigning Champions' brand of beautiful basketball against a San Antonio squad that looked outclassed and lost. After one, Denver had more than doubled the Spurs' scoring and was up 19 points.

The sloppiness continued in the second frame, but the Silver and Black were playing harder to start it, with Dominck Barlow bringing energy off the bench and Victor Wembanyama getting himself to the line by attacking quickly when he got the ball. The visitors eventually responded, putting together stretches in which they dominated without seemingly trying too hard. One thing about this Spurs' team, however, is that they can stagger good individual performances into good team stretches. After Victor, Tre Jones had one of his good runs, dishing out two assists and scoring in transition. Then Devin Vassell came alive with a couple of jumpers and Blake Wesley made a difference with his athleticism. Despite not necessarily executing well as a team, with bad help defense and missed opportunities to find Wembanyama as the main examples, San Antonio cut the lead to nine heading into the break.

The Nuggets came out of the locker room with a plan for the second half: leave others open, make Wembanyama a passer and try to force Jeremy Sochan to be the one to beat them. The doubles came early for Victor, who didn't attack as quickly in the second half but had to deal with terrible spacing. Still, San Antonio stayed close, with the role players picking up the slack for a while. Unfortunately, Jokic took over and the lead started to balloon again, but the second unit came in to give the Spurs a burst of energy. Keldon Johnson got some buckets, Zach Collins hit a couple of shots, Dominick Barlow brought hustle, Blake Wesley disrupted Denver's offense with his intense defense, and instead of a third-quarter collapse the Silver and Black put together an inspiring run without Wembanyama. The comeback seemed possible.

Alas, the difference in execution but especially talent became obvious in the fourth, as Jamal Murray took over on offense. The star guard had been quiet up until then but dropped 11 in the last 12 minutes to keep and extend the separation while Jokic rested. Wembanyama remained ineffective and some of the buckets his teammates made in the third quarter just didn't find the bottom of the net against a more locked-in Denver defense. What looked like a game that could have been close and forced a Jokic vs. Wembanyama duel in the clutch turned into a comfortable win for the visitors, who didn't lose focus and allowed any runs. Wembanyama regaled the crowd with some highlights when the game was out of reach, but there wasn't much he or anyone else could do against an elite opponent that outclassed the Spurs.

Game notes

• Turnovers continue to be a huge issue for the Spurs. The Nuggets scored 27 points off the Spurs' mistakes, a number that both Pop and Zach Collins mentioned in the post-game press conference. It's tempting to say playing in Austin played a big factor, but it has been a problem for the entire season.
• Opponents will continue to put a forward on Wemby and hide their center on Sochan. It's going to happen. It seemed like Wemby figured out how to make them pay by attacking quickly after the catch, but defenses counter by shrinking the floor earlier. Devin Vassell has also been getting traps or hedges on ball screens from opponents who want to get the ball out of his hands and make the Spurs' questionable shooters beat them. Julian Champagnie has been doing well. The others have been streaky. It's something to monitor the rest of the way, as the front office figures out how to improve for next season.
• Sochan played well, finishing with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists, which could have been more if he had found Wemby more often. Dominick Barlow had a good game, as well. They can't provide spacing, which is a big issue, but the non-shooting bigs did well individually and played with a lot of effort on both ends. It's easy to focus solely on the negatives but these are young guys who are still developing.
• Malaki Branham had his third poor scoring game in a row and played just 12 minutes. He's 0-for-10 from outside in this latest stretch. Young players are typically inconsistent, so this is not a huge deal, but anyone expecting Branham's red-hot shooting to continue was probably too optimistic.

Play of the game

Jokic uses his body extremely well to protect his shots, but Victor got him anyway.

Next game: vs. Brooklyn Nets on Sunday

The Spurs will host the Nets in Austin. It should be an interesting matchup that won't have such a huge talent disparity.