DENVER — The San Antonio Spurs saw their losing streak hit 12 games as they suffered a 132-120 loss to the short-handed Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on Sunday night.
The Story: San Antonio started the game strong but Denver would outscore the Spurs 33-25 in the second quarter to pull away and led by as many as 28 points in the second half.
- Nikola Jokic had a season-high 39 points for Denver, who was missing Aaron Gordon, who sat out with a right heel strain.
- Michael Porter Jr. scored 25 points and Reggie Jackson had 20 as they sent the Spurs to their 12th consecutive loss, the third-longest losing streak in franchise history.
- The Spurs opened the third quarter on a 7-2 run but Denver outscored them 33-17 the rest of the period to lead by 23 points heading into the final quarter.
San Antonio doesn’t play again until Thursday but head coach Gregg Popovich wishes the next game was sooner.
“We don’t need any time off. We have it, we don’t need it. We want to just keep playing,” he said.
Wemby magic: Victor Wembanyama‘s first trip to Denver was one for the record books as he continues to show why the Spurs have a bright future despite their current losing streak.
- Wembanyama finished with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and six steals, becoming the first rookie in NBA history to post that line in a single game.
- Wemby’s double-double is the seventh of his career in just his 15th game.
- Devin Vassell came off the bench to score 19 points while Tre Jones played more in the second half for the injured Jeremy Sochan.
“I like bringing something new to the game and I’m glad can already put my name in history a little bit,” Wembanyama said of his historic night. “It’s a good feeling. I’m a student of the game and the best gratitude I can have is having the chance to push it.”
Breaking the streak: Despite Wemby’s big game, it was not enough to down the defending champions and the team knows they need to help their star player.
- “We just got to continue helping him,” Vassell said. “He’s obviously helping us. We just got to put this thing together to get some (bleeping) wins.”
Up next: The Spurs are now 3-13 on the season and will return to the court on Thursday to face the Atlanta Hawks.
