The last time the Nuggets had a comeback win over the Spurs, Victor Wembanyama was on the sidelines. It didn't matter that the Spurs had him this time, either, because the Nuggets deployed Aaron Gordon as a weapon on Wemby over the clutch and overtime minutes, and he may have cracked the code for guarding the MVP candidate in future meetings between the two teams.
The Nuggets trailed by as many as 11 with 9:08 left in the fourth quarter, but as soon as Nikola Jokic came back into the game, the tide shifted. The Nuggets closed the gap, forced overtime, and Jokic had seven of the Nuggets' 12 overtime points, including a fall-away jumper with one minute left in the frame that mostly sealed it for the Nuggets.
The Nuggets win 136-134 in the overtime thriller. It's the Nuggets' eighth win in a row, and it may have been their biggest win of the season.
But it was Aaron Gordon's defense on Wembanyama that stood out in the closing minutes. Gordon did what everyone had hoped he would do when he got healthy. He got stops in the clutch.
Gordon was on Wemby like glue
Wembanyama didn't have any space in the half-court offense with Aaron Gordon on him. Gordon may give up eight inches to Wemby, but his lower center of gravity at the same weight, and extra strength were no match for the MVP candidate. Gordon pushed Wembanyama around and held his ground, never letting Wemby make his way toward the hoop.
It was the kind of defense the Nuggets needed to see out of Gordon for some reassurance that the plan had come to fruition. Get AG healthy. And it did. A healthy Gordon made the difference when it counted.
Wemby was 1-4 shooting in the clutch with Gordon on him, for four total points in the 10 clutch minutes. He had 30 in the other 29 minutes he played. AG was quite the difference-maker, and it inspires confidence in the Nuggets' potential playoff matchup with the Alien.
Nikola Jokic outplayed everyone, of course
The all-time greats show up best on the biggest stages, and the Joker was no exception. Jokic led all scorers with 40 points, and he added 8 rebounds and 13 assists while taking a beating from the Spurs. It looked like a rugby scrum at times, and Jokic hit the floor and added another wound, this time to his nose.
Jokic also had zero turnovers, and the Nuggets only had six as a team. It was a complete effort, and a welcome sight to see Gordon play such great defense on Wemby. The Nuggets look to make it nine in a row when they take on the Trailblazers with only four games remaining.