So close! For much of this game, I felt like the Spurs were firmly in control; the point differential never got huge by modern NBA standards, but until the end of the third quarter it always felt like San Antonio was going to have enough to counter what Denver was brining to the table. As things tightened in the final minutes of regulation, both teams put together some impressive play; however, the Spurs made a couple of key errors, and in the end the Nuggets managed to convert small but critical advantages into their 50th win of the season.
From a strategic perspective, this loss likely means that San Antonio’s dreams of the one seed have faded away, unless OKC truly collapses in this final stretch. However, given the sudden injuries to the Lakers’ roster (which, as a diehard fan of the game, I truly hate), being the second seed may actually produce an easier path to the conference finals (conditional on Denver not catching Los Angeles for the three seed). In any case, here are some key highlights from yesterday’s scintillating contest:
What are Team Graded Box Scores?
Very briefly, these box scores grade winner-loser differentials for basic box score statistics, with the grade being based on the winning team’s differential relative to other NBA winners during a defined reference period. Think of it like a report card for understanding how a given winner performed relative to other winners. The reference period used runs from the start of the 2012-2013 season to the latest date of play, including only games in the same season category (i.e., regular season and playoff games are not compared to each other).
Data Source: The underlying data used to create these box scores was collected from Basketball Reference. In all cases, the data are collected the morning after the game is played. Although rare, postgame statistical revisions after data collection do occur and may affect the results after the fact.