If it wasn’t already clear, Nikola Jokic vs. Victor Wembanyama will remain appointment viewing for the duration of Jokic’s prime.
Wembanyama went for 35 points and 18 rebounds as the Spurs won a 113-110 thriller over the Nuggets on Friday night at Ball Arena. The European bigs will run it back on Saturday in San Antonio to complete a back-to-back.
Michael Malone took a timeout with 17 seconds to go, down one, to let Jokic go to work against Wembanyama, but San Antonio sent a late double-team, and Jokic turned the ball over trying to find an open Michael Porter Jr. on the weak side.
Jokic finished with 41 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists on 36 shots. Wembanyama turned it over eight times as Denver showed him a variety of coverages, but Jokic’s second turnover was the most costly of the night.
For five minutes in the third quarter, it was a shootout as Denver scored on nine consecutive possessions and turned a 60-52 halftime hole into an 81-77 lead. Then the game tightened up and turned into a back-and-forth barn-burner down the stretch. Chris Paul gave the Spurs a 111-110 lead with a minute to go after Jokic had backed down Wembanyama for the lead on the previous possession.
The Nuggets didn’t get an especially great first half from anyone offensively. Neither Murray nor Porter made it to double figures. Murray missed five of his first six shots before knocking down a three and driving past Wembanyama for a layup in the last two minutes. Even Jokic was inefficient, missing a few chances at the rim and experiencing a rare drop-off in his 3-point shooting (1 for 6) as he tried to extend Wembanyama out to the perimeter.
The bright side: Jokic drew fouls against Wembanyama on Denver’s first and last possessions of the half, starting the game with a physical deep seal. The foul Wembanyama picked up with 14 seconds left in the half was his third, and it occurred 90 feet from the basket as he tried to battle for a rebound. It was fitting that Jokic was rewarded for that box-out; the Nuggets went into the locker room with only 21 rebounds (minus-10 in that category), and 10 of them belonged to the starting center.
Malone had tried playing small ball during Jokic’s rest minutes, with Peyton Watson at the five to guard Wembanyama. But the Spurs dominated that iteration of Denver’s second unit, so DeAndre Jordan rejoined the rotation for the start of the fourth quarter. (Watson still matched up on Wembanyama.) The Nuggets entered the crucial stint leading 90-87 and nearly survived an 0-for-8 drought in four minutes without Jokic. But Wembanyama, playing with five fouls, stunned Ball Arena with back-to-back 3s including a side-step shot with Christian Braun’s hand in his face. San Antonio led 97-92.
“What he’s doing right now, I think he’s coming off a month of December that’s never been done before,” Malone said of Wembanyama before opening tip. “And it’s fun to watch a great player continue to get even better — which is scary at the same time.”
Will Russ start when Gordon returns?
Malone has been hesitant to name a return timeline for Aaron Gordon recently while the power forward has missed more games with a reaggravated right calf strain. But in the meantime, the Nuggets improved to 9-2 with Westbrook in the starting lineup going into Friday’s game.
Will Westbrook’s impressive run of play, especially in lineups alongside Jokic, cause Malone consider keeping him in the starting unit after Gordon returns?
“I don’t look forward,” the coach said Friday. “I’m just trying to worry about San Antonio. We play them again tomorrow night. Hopefully, we get healthy some point soon, get Aaron Gordon back, but we’ll make those decisions when we are fully whole.”