点击查看原文：3 takeaways as Denver Nuggets stage rare comeback against Spurs
3 takeaways as Denver Nuggets stage rare comeback against Spurs
San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) defends as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) prepares to shoot the ball at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio on Thursday, March 12, 2026.
For most of the season, there was nothing in the NBA that was as automatic as the Spurs with a 20-point lead.
With his Denver team down by that many in the first half Thursday, Jamal Murray was intent on changing that.
The All-Star guard scored 16 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter to dig the Nuggets out of a hole that to this point of the season had been insurmountable, lifting Denver to a 136-131 come-from-behind victory at the Frost Bank Center.
Nikola Jokic logged a monster triple-double — 31 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists — to help push Denver past the Spurs, who were without Victor Wembanyama.
The All-Star center was a late scratch Thursday due to right ankle soreness.
Spurs guard Stephon Castle posted 30 points to go with 10 assists and 11 rebounds for his third career triple-double, while De’Aaron Fox supplied 27 points and nine assists.
It was not enough to prevent the Spurs from suffering their first loss at the Frost Bank Center since Jan. 21 against New Orleans.
With 6:45 remaining in the first half, Devin Vassell swished a 3-pointer to put the Spurs ahead 53-33.
Up to that point, the Spurs were 21-0 this season when leading by at least 20 points.
Murray and the Nuggets sent them to 21-1.
Denver took its first lead of the game on a Murray 3-pointer with 4:39 to play. That was part of a 14-0 run that put the Nuggets ahead 128-119.
They never trailed again.
Castle had a chance to tie the score with 19.8 seconds to go, but his 3-point try rattled out.
With the defeat, the Spurs dropped to 48-10, maintaining a seven-game lead over Houston and the Los Angeles Lakers for second place in the Western Conference. The Nuggets improved to 41-26 to grab a half-game edge over Minnesota for fifth.
Here are three takeaways from the Spurs’ loss Thursday, which leads into the final game of a six-game homestand Saturday against Charlotte:
1. Defensive letdown fuels loss
For a while, it seemed as if the Spurs’ defense was going to hold up against the Nuggets, who are high-powered enough even with third-leading scorer Aaron Gordon sidelined.
Denver finished the first quarter shooting 29.2%, which included a dreadful 1-of-14 start from 3-point range.
Counterintuitively, the Nuggets found their legs in the second half of the second night of a back-to-back, posting 41 points in the third quarter and 42 in the fourth.
For the Spurs, that defensive drop-off coupled with going cold themselves en route to 25 points in the final frame made holding onto even a 20-point lead untenable.
It seemed to take the Nuggets one half to understand there wasn’t a 7-foot-4 fly-swatter waiting to thwart the path to the basket.
The Spurs got zero points from their center combo of Luke Kornet and Mason Plumlee, and Denver paraded to 56 paint points.
Fox on the different defensive looks they gave the Nuggets in Wemby’s absence:
“We’ve won games without him on the court and we’ve done a better job defensively in those games he didn’t play.” pic.twitter.com/dYH38TApdt
— Spurs Nation (@ Spurs_Nation) March 13, 2026
2. How will Barnes and Bryant split minutes?
Harrison Barnes made his return from a five-game absence Thursday by throwing in 20 points off the bench, his first outing with at least that many since Dec. 23.
He went on the shelf with a left ankle impingement March in Philadelphia, snapping a 364-game Iron Man streak.
During Barnes’ hiatus, rookie Carter Bryant saw an uptick in his minutes and did well with them.
Going forward, it will be interesting to see how the minutes divvy up between the team’s oldest rotation player and the youngest.
Without Wembanyama on Thursday, there were extra minutes to go around. Even so, Bryant logged only nine — his first time in single digits since March 1 at New York.
That just so happened to be Barnes’ last game before going down with his ankle injury.
Barnes and Bryant checked in together with 4:41 left in the first quarter.
Barnes ended up playing 27 minutes. Bryant became an afterthought in the second half after scoring 10 points in the first half.
3. Wembanyama remains on solid awards pace
Coming into Thursday, Wembanyama had played in 30 straight games — not exactly Barnes-esque, but the longest streak of his career.
It was his 15th missed game of the season, meaning he can miss only three more and remain eligible for NBA postseason awards.
Barring something unforeseen, the Spurs and Wembanyama have every intention of making that happen over the regular season’s final 16 contests.
Wembanyama is expected to be back in the lineup when the Spurs close their homestand Saturday against Charlotte.
“I’m optimistic Wembanyama will play,” Johnson said. “That doesn’t mean he will play.”