Nuggets top Spurs 117-106 in front of record crowd in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Nikola Jokić scored 31 components and the Denver Nuggets beat San Antonio 117-106 on Friday night time time in a recreation carried out inside the Texas capital as a result of the Spurs drew a doc crowd of their bid to broaden their regional fan base.

After having his preliminary shot blocked by San Antonio rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama, Jokic went 13 for 19 from the sector. The reigning NBA Finals MVP added seven rebounds, 5 assists and two blocks.

“I don’t suppose anybody can do what Nikola does,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich talked about. “He’s very good. Implausible.”

Jamal Murray added 15 components and 10 assists for Denver, which acquired its fifth straight recreation and for the eleventh time in 12 video video games to remain atop the Western Conference standings.

Jeremy Sochan scored 19 components and Devin Vassell and Wembanyama each had 17 components for San Antonio, which misplaced its third straight.

The Spurs have carried out in Austin the ultimate two seasons to broaden their attain financially and assemble their fan base. The switch proved a most well-liked different as a result of the Spurs set the attendance doc for a sporting event on the Moody Coronary heart with 16,223 on Friday.

Nonetheless, Nuggets coach Michael Malone was concerned his group would not have the perfect mindset, since Austin is not a normal NBA metropolis.

“It has a preseason actually really feel to it,” Malone talked about earlier to the game. “I hope for our players that after the bounce ball goes up that we understand this is not the preseason, this could be a precise recreation. We have to lock in and gives it the attention and respect that it deserves.”

The game had its difficulties logistically. Teams have been unfamiliar with the place to go inside the stadium. Screens and video boards for statistics weren’t updating or have been totally out, and Spurs radio announcer Bill Schoening wanted to ship his broadcast over his cellphone.

Nevertheless, any concern Malone had about how the defending NBA champions would reply have been shortly dashed.

The Nuggets shot 55% from the sector and led by as many as 21 components.

Denver pressured 16 turnovers, which led to 27 components.

“Merely tremendous train,” Malone talked about. “You want to be disruptive defensively. You don’t want to let teams run their offense script and permit them to get regardless of shot they want. You want to disrupt them and make teams actually really feel you and I consider we’re doing an excellent job of it.”

No matter Wembanyama’s early block on Jokic, Denver attacked the rim with impunity. Aaron Gordon had an alley-oop dunk one possession after dunking with Wembanyama trailing fastidiously. Michael Porter Jr. adopted by ending a three-point play on a contested layup and foul by Julian Champagnie.

Porter accomplished with 13 components and Gordon had seven.

Denver went on a 12-0 run inside the opening quarter and constructed a 19-point lead.

“After we play safety like that, we make our life truly easier,” Jokic talked about. “We’re an excellent working group. We’ll get to the basket; we are going to shoot some open 3s. We can have some easy offense. Our safety is one factor that should be there each day and instantly it was there.”

The Spurs reduce their deficit to 81-77 on Keldon Johnson’s contested layup in the direction of Jokic with 1:23 remaining in third, nevertheless the Nuggets shortly rebuilt a double-digit lead inside the fourth.

“Some points you’ll’t match,” Popovich talked about. “You presumably can’t match the experience diploma that they’ve correct now with (Spurs’) youthful group, nevertheless you see what it takes. The consistency, we now have now the difficulty, I’m happy with the easiest way we carried out. We’ve been truly shaky inside the first quarter, like just about an extreme quantity of respect in a method. We appeared just a bit hesitant, and they also acquired it once more collectively and carried out correctly by about halfway by the third quarter after which Murray took over and Jokic took over.”

UP NEXT

Nuggets: At Dallas on Sunday night time time.

Spurs: Host Brooklyn on Sunday night time time.