Nuggets hold off Spurs for key win
By Mathew Huff
The Denver Nuggets were able to turn on the jets in the second half and cruise to a close win over the San Antonio Spurs.
The Denver Nuggets were looking like they could not defend the aging San Antonio Spurs at all in the first half. Every time Denver scored, San Antonio answered with a bucket of their own.
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The second half came and the defense for the Nuggets amped it up a notch. As a result, the Spurs had to start looking else where for scoring opportunities and start hitting some threes and getting open looks at the rim.
Tony Parker and Dejounte Murray were torching the Denver defense from mind range in the first half, but the second half saw them working a little harder for their scoring opportunities.
The Spurs were tired after traveling from Utah the night before and the Nuggets capitalized on this advantage. They got out in transition when they could and made sure the Spurs could not set up their half court defense, which is still one of the best in the league.
Nikola Jokic left off where he was in the first half and continued to carry the Nuggets on his back as he ended up with his fourth triple double of the season. It wasn’t until the late fourth quarter when the other players started coming up big.
Wilson Chandler was instrumental as he made his presence known on both the defensive and offensive end of the floor. A rare, great second game in a row for Chandler this season.
Other players who came up clutch in the fourth were Jamal Murray, Will Barton and Devin Harris who gave the Nuggets the three point shot they needed to shift the momentum which carried them to a huge win.
Next: Nuggets vs. Spurs: Half time report
Despite being the lesser team record wise, the Denver Nuggets were able to defeat the San Antonio Spurs for the first time in five meetings.
