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So close! For much of this game, I felt like the Spurs were firmly in control; the point differential never got huge by modern NBA standards, but until the end of the third quarter it always felt like San Antonio was going to have enough to counter what Denver was brining to the table. As things tightened in the final minutes of regulation, both teams put together some impressive play; however, the Spurs made a couple of key errors, and in the end the Nuggets managed to convert small but critical advantages into their 50th win of the season.
From a strategic perspective, this loss likely means that San Antonio’s dreams of the one seed have faded away, unless OKC truly collapses in this final stretch. However, given the sudden injuries to the Lakers’ roster (which, as a diehard fan of the game, I truly hate), being the second seed may actually produce an easier path to the conference finals (conditional on Denver not catching Los Angeles for the three seed). In any case, here are some key highlights from yesterday’s scintillating contest:
This was a very low turnover game, with the Spurs (11) and Nuggets (6) combining for just 17 turnovers. Since the start of 2012-2013, only 2.65% (446 of 16,829) of regular season contests have had a turnover total at least that low. Unfortunately, the differential still strongly favored Denver, in that they had five less. This disadvantage transferred offensive opportunity from San Antonio to the Nuggets, mostly negating the advantage the Spurs built in TRB (+6) and ORB (+4).
Although both teams recorded exactly 22 fouls, the Spurs did a better job managing the type and timing of their fouls, which helped give the Silver and Black a +5 edge in FTA. Furthermore, the Spurs earned a slightly higher FT% (+6.23 percentage points), which translated to a FTM margin of +6 for San Antonio.
Unfortunately for the Spurs, their six-point edge at the charity stripe was not quite enough to overcome Denver’s advantages from the field. Two major factors were at play here: First, the Nuggets had a slightly better FG% than San Antonio (+1.98 percentage points). Typically, a margin this…
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Publish date : 2026-04-05 14:26:00
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