The Denver Nuggets remain perfect at home. The Nuggets took down the San Antonio Spurs (3-14) on Sunday night. This brought Denver’s record to 11-6, fourth-best in the Western Conference. Denver is also 8-0 at Ball Arena, the best home record in the NBA.
“I mean, we did what we’re supposed to do,” said head coach Michael Malone. “Come home, win in front of our home fans, and get back to playing our brand of basketball.”
Sunday’s win was a nice follow-up to Denver’s arduous road stretch in which the team lost four of five away games.
Nikola Jokić starred for the Nuggets with a season-high 39 points to go with 11 rebounds and 9 assists.
Michael Porter Jr. had a nice outing against the Spurs with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 4-of-9 from deep.
“Just being without (Aaron Gordon), being out with Jamal (Murray), realizing that I’m gonna have to shoot some tougher shots and shoot a little bit more,” said Porter Jr. “Just trying to be aggressive was my mindset.”
The Nuggets shot it well from three-point land at 42.9 percent. They also moved the ball well and recorded a season-high 38 assists.
Denver’s bench was also productive and finished with 27 points. Malone gave sophomore Peyton Watson Defensive Player of the Game for his nonstop effort throughout the game.
“He was our Defensive Player of the Game,” said Malone. “I told him in front of the team, I said, ‘You deserve this tonight. My challenge to you is can you bring the same energy and effort every night? I’m not asking about you making threes. Can you just play with that same energy and effort every night?’ Because when he does that he’s a difference maker.”
Porter Jr. was on an absolute tear to begin Sunday’s game. He finished with 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting, including a nasty snatch-back three-pointer at the left wing. The Nuggets as a whole were very efficient and shot 68.4 percent from the field, and Denver entered the second quarter with a 39-35 lead.
Denver’s young reserves checked in and made an impact with their energy. Watson and Julian Strawther both flew around defensively and each recorded a steal. Christian Braun finished numerous plays on the other end to reach 5 points in the quarter. The buzzing bench went on a 26-8 run to go up big on the Spurs. However, San Antonio closed the quarter on a 12-4 run, and the Nuggets entered halftime with a 72-60 lead.
Nikola Jokić repeatedly posted up Spurs backup center, Charles Bassey, for 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. This allowed the Nuggets to go on a 23-9 run to build a 20-point lead. Denver entered the fourth with a 107-84 lead.
The Spurs made things interesting when they went on a 20-7 run in the fourth, but the Nuggets built back their 20-point lead. That was all they needed to cruise across the finish line for their eighth home victory of the season.
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