Midseason Showdown
The San Antonio Spurs will look for a midseason sweep of the Denver Nuggets when they host them on Saturday night. San Antonio recently defeated the Nuggets 113-110 on Friday, led by Victor Wembanyama’s stellar performance of 35 points and 18 rebounds. The Spurs clinched the win in the final moments after Devin Vassell stole a pass from Nikola Jokic and converted a layup.
San Antonio Spurs:
- Devin Vassell: Finished with 18 points in Friday’s victory.
- Chris Paul: Recorded 11 assists and hit a crucial layup with 54 seconds left to secure the win.
- The Spurs have won three of their past four games and are two games above .500 for the third time this season.
- Jeremy Sochan: Missed Friday’s game due to a sore back, ending a streak of seven games with the “preferred” starting lineup.
Friday’s game was Wembanyama’s 100th as an NBA player and his last as a 20-year-old. He turned 21 on Saturday. According to the Spurs, through his first 100 career games, Wembanyama had:
- More points (2,273) than LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony.
- More rebounds (1,053) than Anthony Davis, Patrick Ewing, and Joel Embiid.
- More blocked shots (366) than Shaquille O’Neal, Dikembe Mutombo, and Hakeem Olajuwon.
- More made 3-point shots (225) than Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Trae Young.
Denver Nuggets:
- Nikola Jokic: Finished with 41 points, 18 rebounds, and nine assists in Friday’s losing effort.
- Michael Porter Jr.: Contributed 22 points.
- Jamal Murray: Added 14 points.
- Aaron Gordon: Missed his fifth straight game due to a right calf strain. The Nuggets are 2-3 in those five contests.
Denver, which had a three-game winning streak snapped, will look to bounce back and avoid the midseason sweep by the Spurs.