- Sean Elliott noted “It’s hard to remember any bad shot that Denver has taken” in the waning minutes, and well, hard to argue with that.
- The ground-bound Jokic appeared to steal the opening tip, and Wembanyama responded by turning his shot away at the rim seconds later. It’s the little things.
- Bill Simmons brought guests Joe House and Wosny Lambre onto his BS Podcast to ‘draft’ the top worst contracts in the NBA today. Johnson surprisingly was drafted by Simmons. Unsurprisingly, Kawhi Leonard’s contract also made it onto the dubious list.
- Once Wembanyama figures out the timing and pace of these Western Conference frontcourt players (Sabonis, Davis, Jokic, etc.), his block, steal, and deflection totals will skyrocket. He was consistently off on contesting Jokic’s numerous dekes, feints, and ball-fakes.
- Sequence of the Game: Late in the first half, Wembanyama stripped a complacent Jokic in the paint, and Tre Jones found an open Champagnie for a transition three.
- Thinking ahead (and with glass half full), with soaring season ticket prices, the annual Rodeo Road Trip, and this slate of late-season games in Austin, it could make it more difficult to mount a meaningful home court advantage in future playoff pushes.
- Denver caught San Antonio napping from the onset, and netted their first seven points at the rim. Julian Champagnie’s two threes kept the Spurs at the Nuggets’ heels despite Wembanyama putting up a goose egg from the field. The Nuggets unfortunately turned on the jets with crisp Beautiful-game era execution, while ratcheting up the pressure on defense. After two Blake Wesley free throws, Denver ran a perfect fast-break drill for a soaring alley-oop and exited the first up 37-18.
- Dominick Barlow paired a tip-in and bankshot to start the second and the team benefitted from his motor. To show the stark difference in the teams’ efforts, after Wembanyama blocked away Christian Braun’s attempt, Zeke Nnaji wrested away the loose ball and kicked it out to an open Braun from three. While Wembanyama started to find his way on offense, the Nuggets were content to trade baskets. Wesley’s aggression and Vassell’s shotmaking helped the Spurs mount their first serious push late in the half and they went into the break down 49-58.
- A touchdown’s worth of points from Jeremy Sochan seemed to portend a great start for San Antonio in the third. A Vassell jumper brought the Spurs within five, but the team failed to get any closer, as Jokic decided to take the game into his own considerable hands. A pair of buckets from Johnson and Collins each did draw the Spurs closer, but the Nuggets converted a buzzer-beating three to head to the fourth up 86-79.
- Jamal Murray woke up from a game-long slumber with a flurry of buckets to help Denver extend its advantage and end any comeback hopes for San Antonio.
Source: https://www.poundingtherock.com/2024/3/ ... se-106-117