The Spurs have won 16 of their last 17 games going into this game against the 40-26 Nuggets.
SAN ANTONIO — The wins keep on coming for the Spurs, having won 16 of their last 17 games. San Antonio also has the best record since the start of the calendar year.
Their last win was against the team with the second-best record since the start of 2026 in the Boston Celtics, a game that was relatively close until the final minutes.
They were led by Victor Wembanyama, who may not have had 83 points that night, but still posted a spectacular 39-point, 11-rebound performance.
De’Aaron Fox added 25 points on 11-14 shooting with nine assists. Stephon Castle added 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
The main storyline coming from the game was the first-half ejection of Jaylen Brown, who was assessed two technical fouls and was tossed from the game. Brown had eight points and seven assists in 15 minutes when he was thrown out.
Without a guy many believe deserves MVP votes, newly activated Jayson Tatum needed to step up in his third game back from an Achilles injury, scoring 24 points and grabbing five rebounds.
Ex-Spurs guard Derrick White also had a great game, scoring a season-high 34 points on the head of his former team.
Interestingly, Dylan Harper’s brother Ron Harper Jr. had a great game for the C’s off the bench, scoring a career-high 22 points, outperforming his brother’s eight-point performance.
At the end of the day, the Spurs took home the win 125-116 after a good fourth quarter.
Looking ahead to Thursday’s game, the Spurs must now take on one of the scariest teams in the West in the Denver Nuggets, and possibly without Wemby.
The Nuggets have been struggling a bit lately. They currently have a 40-26 record, good enough for the sixth seed in the Western Conference as of Wednesday. They’re also only 5-5 in their last 10 games. Their last four losses have come at the hands of three championship-level teams (Thunder twice, Knicks and Timberwolves).
They are coming off a 129-93 demolition of the Houston Rockets Wednesday, meaning they’ll be playing two Texas teams in back-to-back nights. Murray led the way in scoring with 30 points while Jokic put up a cool 16-12-13 game with five steals. Nobody on the Rockets scored more than 16 points.
So while their record may not be as great as you’d think a championship-caliber team would be, they still have 3-time MVP Nikola Jokic, who may be a 4-time MVP by the end of the season.
Many consider Wemby the second-best center in the league. The guy most people have in his way? Jokic.
Jokic is currently averaging 28.9 points, 12.5 rebounds (leading the NBA) and 10.3 assists (leading the NBA) on 57.5% shooting from the field and 39.4% shooting from 3-point range. It would be his second season in a row averaging a triple-double, something only him and two other players have ever done (Russell Westbrook four times and Oscar Robertson).
So any team with Jokic on their roster has to be taken seriously, no matter the record.
Injuries are going to be an issue for Denver, however, as All-Star Jamal Murray and Cameron Johnson are both game-time decisions according to the injury report. Both played in the Rockets game, but may be held out in the second night of a back-to-back. Most Improved Player candidate Peyton Watson is also out with a hamstring injury.
The last time these two teams played was on Nov. 28 which resulted in a classic 139-136 win for the Spurs.
Oh yeah, did I mention that Victor Wembanyama didn’t even suit up for that game?
Devin Vassell led the way in that game scoring 35 points on 12-17 shooting from the field and 7-9 shooting from 3-point range. Julian Champagnie, who uncharacteristically scored zero points last game, scored 25 points while grabbing 10 rebounds.
So even if San Antonio is without Wemby, they have proven they can beat this Denver team without him.
On Denver’s side, Jokic had a quiet game (for his standards) posting a stat sheet of 21 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. A game that would be considered some player’s best game as a pro is a mere leisure stroll for the Joker.
Ironically, the three players who may not play in the second matchup between the teams had the best games for Denver in November:
- Jamal Murray: 37 points, seven assists (13-20 from the field)
- Cameron Johnson: 28 points, six rebounds (10-16 from the field)
- Peyton Watson: 15 points, six rebounds (5-11 from the field)
This second matchup won’t be the last though, as the Spurs and Nuggets will play again on April 4 and April 12 at the end of the season. Depending on how things look, these three games could help determine the final standings of the Western Conference.
How to watch
The game will be televised on FanDuel Sports Network Southwest. You can also listen to game action on WOAI 1200 and KXTN 1350.
Team stats leaders
- POINTS: Victor Wembanyama (24.2), De’Aaron Fox (19.0), Stephon Castle (16.4)
- REBOUNDS: Wembanyama (11.1), Luke Kornet (6.2), Julian Champagnie (5.8)
- ASSISTS: Castle (6.9), Fox (6.3), Dylan Harper (3.8)
- BLOCKS: Wembanyama (3.0), Kornet (1.1), Champagnie (0.4)
- POINTS: Nikola Jokic (28.9), Jamal Murray (25.4)*, Aaron Gordon (17.3)
- REBOUNDS: Jokic (12.5), Gordon (6.2), Jonas Valanciunas (5.0)
- ASSISTS: Jokic (10.3), Murray (7.2)*, Christian Braun (2.9)
- BLOCKS: Peyton Watson (1.2), Jokic (0.8), Valanciunas (0.6)
Injury report
As of 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, Victor Wembanyama is questionable with an ankle injury. Harrison Barnes (ankle) and Lindy Waters III (illness) are both game-time decisions.
As we mentioned for Denver, All-Star Jamal Murray (ankle) and Cameron Johnson (back) are both game-time decisions according to the injury report. Most Improved Player candidate Peyton Watson (hamstring) is also out with a hamstring injury.
Five more things to know
- The Nuggets average the second most points in the league at 120.3, trailing only the Miami Heat whose 120.6 average was bolstered by Bam Adebayo’s 83-point game Tuesday night.
- Denver has the second-best field goal % at 49.2%, trailing only the Lakers. The Spurs are tied for fifth at 48.1%.
- The Nuggets are the most accurate 3-point shooting team in the league at 39%. They have five players currently shooting over 40% (DaRon Holmes, Jamal Murray, Peyton Watson, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Cameron Johnson).
- Denver does not turn opponents over, forcing the least amount of steals of any team at 6.8 a game. They also block the second least amount of blocks at 4.
- Wembanyama has averaged 25.2 points, 14.7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks in six games versus Nikola Jokic in his career. Jokic has averaged 36.8 points, 11.3 rebounds and 8.5 assists in those games. Jokic has also scored at least 40 in three of his last four games against the Spurs.