For three quarters, the Victor Wembanyama-less San Antonio Spurs looked perfect. They were playing physically, getting out into the passing lanes, forcing the Denver Nuggets to take tough shots, and getting to the basket at will. But three-quarters of stellar basketball isn’t enough to take down Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. It takes a sustained 48 minutes of near-perfect basketball to beat an NBA Title contender without your best player.
The turning point seemed to come late in the third quarter, when Jokic was called for an illegal screen on Stephon Castle. A furious David Adelman challenged the call and was given a technical foul. After that, the Nuggets started to get more calls, and the Spurs’ physical advantage disappeared. Denver was able to get into the paint without Wembanyama there to stop them, and the tides turned quickly.
San Antonio didn’t do itself any favors in the fourth quarter. Some of the bad habits that led to blown leads earlier in the season were back with a vengeance on Thursday night. They turned the ball over, allowed the Nuggets to get out and run, and lost the battle in the paint. The game flipped on its head and was over in a flash.
There shouldn’t be a doomsday parade about the loss. Denver is a tough team, and the Spurs were a few bad bounces away from stealing this one without Wembanyama. It is, however, a reminder of what is ahead of them. In the playoffs, teams won’t roll over and die. It’ll take 48 minutes of sustained, near-perfect play to survive and advance.