The San Antonio Spurs are starting to believe they can deal anyone individually. And the truth is, they have reason to think so. The Texas team won a prestigious victory this morning by beating the Denver Nuggets 110-113, in a duel marked by the face-to-face between emerging star Victor Wembanyama and triple MVP Nikola Jokic, a difference in status which, at least on this occasion it wasn’t the case on the track.
Both players seemed to have this match marked on their calendar and came out determined to leave a clash to remember. They sought to be protagonists, they faced each other on numerous occasions and thus signed one of the best face-to-face matches of this season.
Duel of giants
Jokic dominated numerically, finishing with 41 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists with which he led the Nuggets who needed everything he could give them. And these numbers are accompanied by much less efficiency than usual for the center, who shot up to 36 times at the basket and was only able to convert 15 in front of the endless arms of the Frenchman. But, on a night where neither Westbrook nor Murray was doing well and where only Michael Porter Jr., with 22 points, served as support, he had no other choice.
Wembanyama, on the other hand, was not far behind Nikola in adding 35 points, also 18 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. And, more importantly, he did it more effectively and with better support. Victor dominated all areas of the court, adding paint, midrange and triples until finishing with a 14/22 field goal that established him as the most important man on the court during an evening during which he shared the park. with one of the (two? three?) best players in the world
Wembanyama, however, had several important supporters. Devin Vassell was his best ally in the starting lineup with 18 points, but he also received help off the bench from Keldon Johnson and Julian Champagnie, who added 16 and 15 respectively to show the difference in depth of the two teams. And the Spurs bench triumphed resoundingly over that of Denver (13-37), giving rise to a more balanced performance which was worth a fundamental victory.
With him, San Antonio is closer to direct access to the playoffs than to an exit from the play-ins, with an 18-16 record which is enough for them to finish eighth in the West and dream of big things. Because while it is obvious that it is still early for this team, it is also undeniable that they have a monster who can take them wherever they want.
(Cover photo: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images)
