Victor Wembanyama powered through the Mile High air and the physical Nuggets to | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Unfazed Spurs squad executed like a playoff team in the final minutes to finish off a stunned Denver squad In what was another of many highly anticipated Western Conference superstar battles for years to come, Defensive Player of the Year favorite Victor Wembanyama and MVP favorite Nikola Jokic wowed from the start with their all-around greatness before San Antonio paired a shotclock beating Chris Paul floater and an audacious steal and breakaway dunk by Devin Vassell on a failed Jokic crosscourt pass to nab its most impressive crunchtime win of the 2024-25 campaign. The Spurs weathered an onslaught of three-pointers in the third before righting the ship behind Vassell’s leadership and playmaking. Wembanyama also may have completed his superstar heel turn, as the Nuggets’ coaching staff and players took turns complaining about him throughout a flat first half for Denver. Jokic, in particular, spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to goad the Spurs’ center into fouls. San Antonio had an easier than anticipated time in the first half with Wembanyama (35 points, 18 rebounds, 2 blocks) receiving great support from Vassell (18 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals) in the absence of Jeremy Sochan (back). Keldon Johnson (16 points and 4 rebounds) continued his impressive campaign, and Julian Champagnie (15 points and 4 rebounds) shot well from distance. The tale of the tape in those final 180 seconds: Vassell driving dunk (101-101). Wembanyama stepback (103-103), Champagnie three (106-108). WEMBY TO JOHNSON FOR AND-1 (109-108), PAUL FLOATER (111-110), VASSELL STEAL AND DUNK (113-110). Jokic (41 points, 18 rebounds, 9 assists) put forth yet another Herculean performance in the loss, while Michael Porter, Jr. (22 points and 2 blocks) and Jamal Murray (14 points and 7 assists) carried the title hopeful Nuggets when Jokic took the occasional break. Observations “IcyHot” Danny Green got the spot start as Analyst subbing for Sean Elliott. “Danny Green is a very good luck charm.” was the right way to close out the broadcast. The ambient noise in Ball Arena for wide swaths of action, resembled a mall food court. Area 51: In the first minutes of action, Wembanyama missed a baseline jumper, and with the carom hanging in the air, Stephon Castle soared down the lane for an impressive tip dunk - evoking shades of Kawhi Leonard’s putback dunk in 2014 Finals Game 4. Early on, and as Jacob Tobey was saying “this is the best fast break team in the league,” the Nuggets fumbled the ball over to the Spurs. After Jokic tricked Wembanyama into an early cheapie foul, and Wembanyama lured the former MVP into his second foul a few minutes later. Beautiful Game Reincarnated: During a second quarter run, Wembanyama brought the ball upcourt, fed it to Castle at the free throw line, who re-directed it to the corner for Barnes, and Barnes drew a Nugget to him and found Keldon Johnson at the basket for a lay-up. Three passes and an assist in less than two seconds. Sequence of the Game #1: Late in the first, Paul, luring his side of the court to sleep, whipped a crosscourt bullet to a cutting Champagnie for a gliding lay-up. Champagnie hit a stepback over Jokic next time down the court. The forward then grabbed an errant Vassell miss, and gritted a lay-up home. Sequence of the Game #2: Vassell drew four defenders deep into the paint on a drive and lasered a pass out to Champagnie in the left corner for an important three late in the third. Devin’s Deeds: Though his shot wasn’t falling in the first half, he was a nuisance on defense - earning a steal, drawing a take toul, and hustling for an offensive rebound - all in 90 seconds. In the closing minute of the half, Vassell came off of a screen, and instead of chucking up a fadeaway, found Wembanyama for a resounding slam. Victor Ease: After Russell Westbrook rode him to the floor on a prior possession, Wembanyama - slow to get up - waited for the guard seconds later to contest his lay-up and converted an and-1. Repeating the Barnes hustle theme from prior Final Scores, the forward ripped away a loose ball from two Nuggets and hooked home a floater midway through the opening stanza. Despite Wembanyama (4) and Collins (5) being in severe foul trouble late in the third quarter, Charles Bassey remained glued to the bench. Coach Mitch Johnson unsuccessfullly challenged an out-of-bounds call two minutes into the fourth and trimmed the available number of timeouts to two with 10 minutes left. Game Rundown The trio of Wembanyama, Castle, and Barnes figured prominently in the first handful of minutes as the Spurs leapt ahead. Wembanyama punished Jokic on an and-1 to put the visitors up nine. Jokic, as he has all season, single-handedly kept Denver close with his heroics. A confident Zach Collins took it right to Jokic and willed home a baby hook. A trio of threes from Julian Strawther, Christian Braun, and Porter, Jr. put the Nuggets up one. Champagnie’s fourth field goal of the frame helped San Antonio leave the first up two. Back-to-back threes from Wembanyama near the pickaxe logo briefly put San Antonio back up nine. As Murray missed his fifth shot, Danny Green noted “it’s a mental thing.” Despite Denver rolling out a zone, Johnson (hit) and Barnes (miss) still got open threes. The offensive execution stalled out over several minutes before the teams found their footing. After a Murray flurry, Johnson and Wembanyama steadied the Spurs, and they took a 60-52 lead into the break. Denver, to start the third period, did much of its damage right at the rim to again inch closer. A Westbrook three and transition dunk put the Nuggets back up four. Paul salvaged the quarter with a pair of much-needed jumpers, but Denver continued to connect on bomb-after-bomb. A visibly exhausted Wembanyama picked up his fourth foul with 5:15 to go, and Collins soon followed with his fourth and fifth fouls. Vassell picked up his aggression to net several freebies. His pull-up jumper re-tied the game, and San Antonio went to the fourth relieved to be down three. For the Nuggets fan’s perspective, please visit Denver Stiffs. The teams fly to the Alamo City to complete their SEGABABA tomorrow night at 7;30 PM CDT.