AUSTIN, Texas — When Nikola Jokic directed his gaze upward for the opening tip, a giant University of Texas logo stared back at him from the underside of the jumbotron like a well-placed reminder of his opponent.
The Longhorn’s outstretched horns were maybe half the length of Victor Wembanyama’s arms.
Wembanyama blocked Jokic on the first possession of the game, but Jokic and the Nuggets steadily built a 19-point lead by the end of the first quarter and held off the upstart Spurs’ comeback for a 117-106 win Friday night.
Jokic sent a message early when he backed down Wembanyama and put his shoulder into the rookie phenom, creating space for a post bucket that not even the 7-foot-4 center could recover to swat. The two-time MVP went on to score 31 points on 13-of-19 shooting. Denver outscored San Antonio by more than 20 in the paint.
Wembanyama blocked three shots and added two steals, but the Nuggets (47-20) held him to 3 for 12 from the field in their fifth consecutive win. They advanced to 11-1 since the All-Star break and reclaimed a half-game lead on Oklahoma City for the top seed in the Western Conference.
The game was played in a novelty location: UT’s Moody Center in Austin, where the Spurs are hosting two games this weekend to expand their reach to a nearby market that lacks pro franchises in most major sports. Spurs and Nuggets fans behind the scorer’s table were devoted to a screaming match against each other. Meanwhile, the participating coaches had different feelings about the new city.
“It’s kind of fun. It’s kind of a one-off. It’s different,” San Antonio’s Gregg Popovich said. “And as the year goes on, it’s a lot of games. It’s a lot of travel. And all of a sudden playing in a different venue is, I think, kind of fun.”
Michael Malone was less enthusiastic.
“I really don’t even know why we’re here. I’m still trying to figure that out,” the Nuggets coach said in his pregame news conference. “But we are here. So you’ve gotta embrace it.”
Malone said the location had “a preseason feel to it” that made him afraid of Denver’s collective mindset. “I hope for our players, once that jump ball goes up that we understand this is not the preseason,” he said. “This is a real game, and we have to lock in and give it the attention and respect that it deserves.”
Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, left, looks past San Antonio Spurs guard Tre Jones, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Mar., 15, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman)
The beginning was not the problem. Jokic was in double figures by the end of the first quarter, and his teammates were clicking around him. Reggie Jackson, with renewed confidence after a clutch performance in Miami, dished a behind-the-back assist to Peyton Watson. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went coast-to-coast with a steal. The Nuggets broke San Antonio’s press to perfectly execute a two-for-one late in the frame, ending with a lob from Christian Braun to Watson.
But the Spurs kept Denver modest in the middle two quarters, even as Wembanyama got into foul trouble. It was an 83-79 game until Justin Holiday’s 3-pointer on the final possession of the third quarter set the stage for an impressive bench display that allowed Malone to save Jokic in the fourth.
Holiday finished the night with 11 points on 3-for-6 outside shooting, one shanked dunk not withstanding. Aaron Gordon, who had half-dunked on Wembanyama for Denver’s first points of the night, laughed at Holiday from the bench. Braun scored seven of his efficient 13 points in the fourth, sustaining his own recent stretch of impressive games.
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