Nuggets overwhelm Spurs in I-35 Series opener at Moody Center 117-106
Jokic shot 13 of 19 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds with five assists to lead six Nuggets players scoring in double figures. Jamal Murray scored 15 points while Christian Braun and Michael Porter Jr. each had 13.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Nikola Jokic poured in 31 points as the Denver Nuggets held off a feisty San Antonio Spurs 117-106 Friday in front of a record crowd at Moody Center in Austin.
Jokic shot 13 of 19 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds with five assists to lead six Nuggets players scoring in double figures. Jamal Murray scored 15 points while Christian Braun and Michael Porter Jr. each had 13.
After trailing 37-18 after the first quarter, the Spurs worked their way back into the game and cut the deficit to 81-77 late in the third quarter, but the defending NBA champs were simply too much in the final frame. Jeremy Sochan led the Spurs with 20 points while Devin Vassell had 17. Rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama struggled from the field, scoring 17 points on 4 of 12 shooting with an 8-for-9 performance from the foul line. He brought the crowd to its feet with a vicious two-handed putback dunk late in the game.
Denver shot 55% from the field to San Antonio's 46% and the Nuggets dominated the paint with 64 points to the Spurs' 44. Denver led by 21 in the first half before the Spurs began to chip away, but they couldn't quite do enough. San Antonio committed 16 turnovers to Denver's 12.
San Antonio (14-53) opened its I-35 Series at Moody Center which began last season in Austin. The attendance of 16,223 was the highest in the venue's short history for a sporting event. Moody Center was finished in 2022 after breaking ground in 2019.
The loss drops San Antonio five games behind the Portland Trail Blazers for last in the Western Conference. Spurs center Zach Collins admitted that it's getting tough losing as many games as they have, but there's progress being made, he said.
"Defensively, we've been a little bit better," he said. "We've started to make more shots and our shooters are getting there, but when we give up 27 points of turnovers, it's hard to win games."
Collins finished with 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting with six rebounds.
The Spurs take on Brooklyn at 6 p.m. Sunday in the second game of the I-35 Series in Austin. Denver (47-20) moves a half-game ahead of the Thunder at the top of the Western Conference with the win. They'll stay in Texas and take on the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.