Nikola Jokic scored 46 points that included the first seven in overtime as the visiting Denver Nuggets rode their superstar to a 122-111 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in the second of back-to-back games on two nights between the teams.
The Spurs won Friday’s opener of the home-and-home 113-110 in Denver. Overall, the Nuggets have won four of their past five games but had to work an extra five minutes to get it done on Saturday.
San Antonio led by 11 points after three quarters, but the Nuggets charged back, going up 108-106 on a Jokic free throw with 1:06 to play. Devin Vassell tipped in a miss of his own layup with 14 seconds left to tie the game, after which Denver called a time out to set up a final shot. Jokic then rimmed out a jumper from the top of the key, sending the game into an extra period.
Jokic capped his definitive overtime run with a putback of his own missed 3-pointer with 2:27 remaining and the Nuggets held on over the final stretch. He also had 10 assists and nine rebounds in the victory.
Michael Porter Jr. added 28 points and 10 rebounds for Denver, with Jamal Murray scoring 13 and Russell Westbrook taking 10 rebounds.
Harrison Barnes led San Antonio with 22 points while Victor Wembanyama scored 20 and grabbed a career-high 23 rebounds. Vassell added 19 points and Keldon Johnson, Stephon Castle and Julian Champagnie tallied 10 apiece.
The Nuggets led by eight points in the first quarter before San Antonio culled its deficit to 30-27 after 12 minutes of play.
The Spurs moved into the lead at 38-37 when Tre Jones drove the lane for a layup with 7:29 to play in the period. Vassell’s dunk with 35 seconds left was answered by Westbrook’s jumper 13 seconds later as San Antonio took a 55-54 lead into the break.
Jokic led all scorers with 18 points in the first half while Wembanyama countered with 14 points and 12 rebounds in just 14 minutes of court time before halftime.
San Antonio scored 17 of the first 24 points to open the third quarter. Jones’ layup with 8 seconds to play in the period staked the Spurs to a 92-81 advantage heading into the final period.