San Antonio Spurs Stun the Nuggets in Denver 139-136
In a game that had no business being this thrilling, the San Antonio Spurs, battered and without their towering phenom Victor Wembanyama, walked into the lion’s den of Ball Arena and pulled off a heist for the ages. They stunned the Denver Nuggets 139-136, roaring back from an 18-point hole to punch their ticket to the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not in Denver, where the air is thin, and the Nuggets had been nearly invincible on the road. But at home? They’d been struggling, and the Spurs, smelling blood in the water, made them pay dearly for their third straight loss in their own building.
The Spurs’ Unlikely Heroes Emerge
Without Wembanyama‘s 7-foot-4 frame patrolling the paint, the Spurs were undersized and seemingly overmatched. The script was written for a Nuggets blowout. But someone forgot to give the script to Devin Vassell. The man was simply unconscious, a walking bucket who decided he was not going to let his team lose. Vassell erupted for a season-high 35 points, splashing home a staggering 7 of 9 from beyond the arc. Every time the Nuggets thought they had a sliver of breathing room, Vassell was there with a dagger, a cold-blooded triple that silenced the 19,000-plus in attendance.
But he wasn’t alone. Julian Champagnie, stepping up massively, played the game of his life. He notched a season-best 25 points and, crucially, grabbed 10 rebounds, fighting for every loose ball against a much bigger Denver frontcourt. His perfect 10-for-10 performance from the free-throw line was the steady hand the Spurs needed in a sea of madness. San Antonio as a team was clinical from the stripe, sinking 30 of 32 attempts, turning every Denver foul into precious, game-altering points.
How Denver Let It Slip Away
For the Nuggets, this will be a game that haunts them. Jamal Murray was spectacular, pouring in 37 points and etching his name in the franchise record books by eclipsing 10,000 career points. Nikola Jokic was his usual, brilliant self, flirting with a triple-double with 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists, including a behind-the-back dime that was pure magic.
They looked to be in complete control. A blistering 23-6 run to close the first half gave them a comfortable 15-point cushion.
But then, the turnovers started. The Spurs’ defense, scrappy and relentless, forced 17 Denver mistakes and turned them into 30 devastating points. “We’ve got to grow up and compete defensively,” a frustrated acting head coach, David Adelman, said afterward. Murray echoed the sentiment, lamenting the self-inflicted wounds. “I think (if) we calm down and don’t turn it over… somehow we win that game.”
Somehow, they didn’t. The Spurs unleashed a biblical 80-point flood in the second half, their most in any half this season. They just kept coming, a wave of silver and black that the former champs simply couldn’t hold back.
A Win Forged in Fire
This was a character win for the Spurs. Short-handed, on the road, against one of the league’s elite teams, they refused to quit. Eight different players hit a three-pointer, a symbol of a total team effort. Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News summed it up perfectly: the Spurs were set up to lose, but they just wouldn’t.
As the final buzzer sounded, the contrast was stark. The Spurs celebrated a victory that felt like more than just a win; it was a statement. The Nuggets, meanwhile, were left to wonder how a sure thing had crumbled into dust. It was a reminder that in the NBA, heart can sometimes trump talent, and on a cold November night in Denver, the San Antonio Spurs had it in spades.
