With a taste of playoff-level basketball two weeks early, the Nuggets looked as determined to engineer a comeback as if their season was on the line.<\/p>\n
Down 11 in the fourth quarter, down six with 90 seconds to go, down four with 40 seconds, Denver rallied for a 136-134 overtime win over the streaking Spurs on Saturday at Ball Arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably the best win of the season mentally,\u201d coach David Adelman said, \u201cjust to kind of stay with each other and they go on the runs they\u2019d go on. They\u2019re as talented as it gets.\u201d<\/p>\n
Especially at the center position, where San Antonio is the only team that rivals Denver. Victor Wembanyama amassed 34 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks in the loss. But in a war of MVP wills, Nikola Jokic put the finishing touches on his 40-point, eight-rebound, 13-assist performance in the last minute of overtime, burying two high-stakes shots over the mile-high reach of Wembanyama.<\/p>\n
\u201cJok is as smart of a basketball player as there ever was,\u201d an awestruck Cam Johnson said.<\/p>\n
Both buckets were garnished with an untouchable rainbow arc. Both of them doubled Denver\u2019s lead. The first was fading and one-legged, Jokic\u2019s signature shot, the Sombor Shuffle. The second was a floater with 9.8 seconds left as Wembanyama recovered across the lane to contest. He was an iota of a second too late.<\/p>\n
It sealed the Nuggets\u2019 eighth consecutive win and their fourth consecutive 50-win season.<\/p>\n
And it might\u2019ve been a questionable decision, strictly speaking. Denver was killing time with a two-point edge and about a three-second differential between the game and shot clocks. The Spurs hadn\u2019t fouled yet. Holding the ball could have resulted in either an intentional foul by San Antonio or a last-second shot and scramble for the rebound; San Antonio would have had no margin for error to retrieve it quickly and call a timeout before the buzzer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when Jok shoots a floater, I\u2019ll be honest, that\u2019s better than shooting free throws,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cWith the percentage he shoots it at, and he\u2019s 4 feet from the basket, that\u2019s an auto two.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even against Wembanyama\u2019s shot-blocking hand lurking 4 feet above the rim, level with the top of the backboard?<\/p>\n
\u201cWith Nikola Jokic? Yeah,\u201d Adelman doubled down.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe touch, I mean, it\u2019s bar game-like,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s insane. I just have never seen anybody that can shoot a floater like Nikola. It\u2019s almost like\u00a0the more contested it is, the better it is. It\u2019s through the net even cleaner.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, I know there was a difference in the shot clock, but I didn\u2019t know how much was it,\u201d Jokic, an 83% free throw shooter, said. \u201c\u2026 Maybe it\u2019s better that I didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jokic was a plus-12 in 44 turnover-free minutes. He shot 13 of 25 from the field and tacked on three blocks of his own.<\/p>\n
The game seemed out of reach for the Nuggets (50-28) until Johnson converted a 4-point play with 1:24 remaining to close the gap to 122-120. Jokic cut it back to two by drawing a foul 32 seconds left. Needing a stop, Aaron Gordon clamped De\u2019Aaron Fox to force an air-ball at the shot clock buzzer. Adelman used a timeout and dialed up a set to force overtime.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TDP-L-NuggetsVsSpurs-20260404-TH-015.jpg\")
The crowd chants \u201cMVP\u201d as center Nikola Joki\u0107 (15) of the Denver Nuggets steps up for a free throw during overtime of a 136-134 Nuggets win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, April 4, 2026, at Ball Arena in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n
Jokic curled around a foul-line screen from Gordon to catch the inbound pass on the baseline while Johnson and Tim Hardaway Jr. cleared out to the weak side. Both defenders went to Jokic on the screen, leaving Gordon free in the middle of the floor for a game-tying dunk with 6.5 seconds left.<\/p>\n
The power forward was supposed to be on a minutes restriction after dealing with calf tightness last weekend. Instead, he logged 41 minutes and contested Wembanyama\u2019s off-target game-winning attempt on the final possession. \u201cIt was almost like he was behind the backboard shooting it,\u201d Gordon said. Johnson described his teammate\u2019s defense as \u201celite\u201d in the winning locker room.<\/p>\n
Denver led for only 71 seconds in regulation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was a really grimy, gritty game. \u2026 You can feel the playoffs are approaching,\u201d Gordon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re trying to chase down a one-seed,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cSo they\u2019re in full tilt. And we\u2019re trying to chase as high as we can get in the standings, and we understand that there\u2019s a potential we could run into each other soon (in the playoffs). \u2026 You could feel it in the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Spurs came in on an 11-game win streak. Their most recent loss was March 12, when Denver erased a 20-point deficit on the second leg of a back-to-back. They were touting a 26-1 record with Wembanyama in the lineup since the start of February.<\/p>\n
But this was the first time this season that Wembanyama was available for one of the most compelling head-to-head matchups in basketball. His dramatic wingspan has tested Jokic in recent years unlike any other big man, forcing the three-time MVP to reimagine the parabola of his shot or stretch his release point farther from his body to create a cushion.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re probably the two most unique players of the last decade of basketball,\u201d Adelman said. \u201c\u2026 The first couple of times, (it was fun) watching him measure how long (Wembanyama) was, blocking shots, and trying to find a way to shoot his jump hook over the top of his hand \u2014 which I think he had practice with (Rudy) Gobert over the years. But Wemby is a whole other thing. \u2026 Them measuring each other is very interesting, and for Nikola, a guy that loves to figure things out, this is the ultimate defensive puzzle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jokic posted up Wembanyama out an inverted pick-and-roll early and used his left hand to score over the French giant. The Nuggets started the game with Jokic on Wembanyama and Aaron Gordon ready to switch on screen exchanges between Wemby and Stephon Castle.<\/p>\n
Wembanyama picked up two quick fouls trying to contend with Jokic inside, forcing Spurs coach Mitch Johnson to tread carefully. Wembanyama went to the bench for a few minutes. Denver failed to capitalize, outscoring San Antonio by only one with Jokic on the court and Wembanyama absent from it. When he returned, the smaller Keldon Johnson guarded Jokic, enabling Wemby to roam away from Christian Braun and avoid foul trouble.<\/p>\n
![\"Victor](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/TDP-L-NuggetsVsSpurs-20260404-TH-009.jpg\")
Victor Wembanyama (1) of the San Antonio Spurs keeps the ball inbounds by passing to teammate Devin Vassell (24) during overtime of a 136-134 Nuggets win on Saturday, April 4, 2026, at Ball Arena in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n
But that subplot turned controversial late in the first quarter. After a San Antonio rebound, Wembanyama accidentally smacked Jokic in the face. He went to the floor in a heap with a cut on the bridge of his nose as evidence, but no foul was called.<\/p>\n
Denver\u2019s bench erupted. Bruce Brown committed an intentional transition take foul to stop the play, resulting in an automatic free throw. Adelman and assistant coach JJ Barea launched profanities at the refs while Adelman ventured to the paint to help his star up. Their sideline was handed a technical foul, meaning a second Spurs free throw. At the other end, Gordon was pleading Jokic\u2019s case and picked up his own tech \u2014 another free throw.<\/p>\n
The Nuggets were on a 9-0 run before the sequence. The Spurs turned it into a five-point possession to end the quarter up 43-36. Wembanyama avoided his third foul.<\/p>\n
As for him and Jokic, bygones were bygones. Wembanyama went over to apologize. The stars dapped up and carried on. <\/p>\n
Denver was overmatched by Wembanyama, De\u2019Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper during Jokic\u2019s breather to start the second quarter, even with Gordon \u2014 the team\u2019s preferred Wembanyama defender<\/a> \u2014 playing backup center. After an 8-0 Spurs run, Adelman decided to take Jonas Valanciunas<\/a> for a spin and move Gordon back to the four. That helped soften the blow. Valanciunas made plays on the offensive glass, providing solid minutes despite getting swatted to death by Wembanyama on an ill-advised post-up.<\/p>\n Still, the Nuggets dug a 13-point hole by the time Jokic returned. They would spend the rest of the afternoon trying to chip away at it. Theatrics between Jokic and Wembanyama defined the first half; both lobbied for calls and ultimately earned 11 free throws each by the intermission. Denver challenged a potential third foul on Jokic only to unwittingly get it successfully overturned \u2014 to a foul on Gordon. Wembanyama had tripped over his shoelace, the referees determined.<\/p>\n Officiating largely faded as a storyline throughout the second half, as Wembanyama shifted back to the Jokic matchup. What remained a constant was San Antonio\u2019s willingness to help away from Braun and funnel the ball to him in the corners. It was an indicator that his down year from the 3-point line is likely to be tested in the playoffs. He struggled to punish the Spurs at first Saturday, eventually growing into the game with a 5-for-11 showing from deep for 21 points.<\/p>\n