Victor Wembanyama’s 35 dominates Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets in Denver

If it wasn’t already clear, Nikola Jokic vs. Victor Wembanyama will remain on show for the duration of Jokic’s prime.

Wembanyama had 35 points and 18 rebounds as the Spurs won a 113-110 thriller against the Nuggets Friday night at Ball Arena. The great Europeans will meet again on Saturday in San Antonio to complete a back-to-back match.

Michael Malone took a timeout with 17 seconds left, running late, to let Jokic work against Wembanyama, but San Antonio sent a late double team and Jokic turned the ball over trying to find an open Michael Porter Jr. on the ground. weak side.

Jokic finished with 41 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists on 36 shots. Wembanyama turned the ball over eight times as Denver showed him a variety of coverages, but Jokic’s second turnover was the most costly of the night.

For five minutes in the third quarter, it was a shootout as Denver scored on nine straight possessions and turned a 60-52 halftime gap into an 81-77 lead. Then the game tightened up and turned into a hot back-and-forth throughout the sequence. Chris Paul gave the Spurs a 111-110 lead with a minute remaining after Jokic cut back Wembanyama to take the lead on the previous possession.

The Nuggets didn’t get a particularly great first half from anyone offensively. Neither Murray nor Porter managed double figures. Murray missed five of his first six shots before knocking down a three and passing Wembanyama for a layup in the final two minutes. Even Jokic was ineffective, missing a few chances at the rim and experiencing a rare drop in his 3-point shooting (1 of 6) as he tried to extend Wembanyama to the perimeter.

The bright side: Jokic fouled Wembanyama on Denver’s first and last possession of the half, starting the game with a deep physical bucket. Wembanyama’s foul with 14 seconds left in the half was his third, and it occurred 90 feet from the basket as he tried to fight for a rebound. It was normal that Jokic was rewarded for this box-out; the Nuggets returned to the locker room with only 21 rebounds (minus-10 in this category), and 10 of them belonged to the starting center.

Malone had tried to play small ball during Jokic’s minutes of rest, with Peyton Watson at five to guard Wembanyama. But the Spurs dominated this iteration of Denver’s second unit, so DeAndre Jordan joined the rotation for the start of the fourth quarter. (Watson was still up to Wembanyama.) The Nuggets entered the crucial stint leading 90-87 and nearly survived an 0-of-8 drought in four minutes without Jokic. But Wembanyama, playing with five fouls, stunned Ball Arena with straight 3s, including a side shot with Christian Braun’s hand in front of his face. San Antonio led 97-92.

“What he’s doing right now, I think he just had a December that’s never been done before,” Malone said of Wembanyama before opening the tip. “And it’s fun to see a great player continue to get even better – which is scary at the same time.”