San Antonio Spurs vs Denver Nuggets Box Score on Apr 05, 2022

Devin Vassell and Kelden Johnson scored 20 points each, Josh Richardson had 18 and the visiting San Antonio Spurs beat the Denver Nuggets 116-97 on Tuesday night.

Tre Jones had 14 points and 10 assists, Jakob Poeltl also scored 14 points and Zach Collins added 13 for the Spurs (34-45), who have won five straight road games. San Antonio moved closer to securing 10th place in the Western Conference and the last spot in the play-in bracket.

Nikola Jokic had 41 points and 17 rebounds and Aaron Gordon added 18 points and 13 rebounds for Denver (47-33), which still needs one win or a Minnesota loss to secure at least the sixth seed and avoid the West's play-in tourney.

The Spurs dominated the second quarter to take a big lead. After Bryn Forbes hit a jumper to make it 34-32, San Antonio went on a 12-2 run to lead 46-34.

Another run at the end of the second gave the Spurs a 21-point lead, and they took a 64-44 lead into halftime.

Denver opened the second half on an 8-2 run to get within 66-52, but Johnson's 3-pointer made it 71-54. Jokic made a technical foul shot and an 18-foot jumper, Gordon grabbed an offensive rebound and banked it in and Austin Rivers scored on a driving layup to pull within 71-61 with 6:25 left in the third.

Johnson scored San Antonio's next six points and Lonnie Walker IV's 3-pointer gave the Spurs an 80-67 lead, but Will Barton hit back-to-back 3-pointers to spark a run that cut the deficit to 85-79 heading into the fourth.

The Nuggets got within 87-83 early in the fourth, but San Antonio answered. Vassell and Richardson made 3-pointers around a layup by Jones, and Collins converted a three-point play to make it 98-85 with 8:13 left.

Denver had two empty possessions and Richardson made a corner 3-pointer to cap a 14-2 run and give the Spurs a 101-85 lead. The Nuggets never got closer than 13 the rest of the way.

--Field Level Media