Nikola Jokic delivered another statement performance on Saturday night, powering the Denver Nuggets to a 136-134 overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs at Ball Arena. Denver snapped San Antonio’s 11-game winning streak after erasing a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit.
Jokic finished with 40 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds, while Christian Braun added 21 points to give Denver the scoring balance it needed late. Aaron Gordon scored 15 points, Jamal Murray posted 15 points and 10 assists, and Cameron Johnson chipped in 17 as the Nuggets improved their finishing down the stretch.
The turning point came in regulation, when Gordon scored with 6.2 seconds left to tie the game at 126. He then helped force Victor Wembanyama into a miss on the final shot of regulation, setting up a Denver finish that leaned on execution and defensive pressure.
San Antonio had controlled much of the afternoon. Stephon Castle scored 20 points, while Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie each added 18, and Wembanyama again filled the stat sheet with 34 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists and five blocked shots.
The Spurs looked in command when Castle’s three-point play midway through the second quarter pushed them ahead 57-44. They later led 107-96 with 9:08 left in the fourth, and entered Saturday with a 48-2 record this season when holding a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter.
That edge disappeared in a hurry. Denver outscored San Antonio 40-27 over the final 14 minutes, including overtime, and held the Spurs to 33% shooting during that stretch. Jokic scored 16 of his 40 points in those final 14 minutes, while San Antonio managed just 1-for-4 shooting from Wembanyama in that span.
The result also carried a measure of revenge for Denver. The Nuggets had already rallied from a 13-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Spurs on March 12, and this time they repeated the formula by surviving another big San Antonio lead and closing with more poise.
San Antonio dropped to only its third loss in its last 30 games, while Denver continued to show why its offense becomes even more dangerous when Jokic dictates the tempo late.
The Spurs host Philadelphia on Monday, and the Nuggets return home to face Portland the same night.
