Spurs at Nuggets
The San Antonio Spurs have stolen homecourt advantage away from Denver and look to take a 2-0 lead when they visit the Nuggets on Tuesday. Second-seeded Denver struggled down the stretch of Game 1 and the seventh-seeded Spurs were happy to take advantage and notch the victory.
The Nuggets had an opportunity to force overtime but Spurs rookie point guard Derrick White stole the ball from guard Jamal Murray with 2.1 seconds remaining and hit two free throws with 1.3 seconds left to seal the 101-96 victory. Shooting guard DeMar DeRozan had 18 points and 12 rebounds as one of five San Antonio players to score in double digits. Denver trailed by six points with under 3 1/2 minutes left in the opener and had a chance to take the lead but Murray missed a wide-open 18-footer with 9.4 seconds left prior to the ending sequence. "Obviously, this was not the desired result, giving them home court advantage right back after Game 1," Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters afterward. "I reminded our guys that we did some good things, we gave ourselves a chance down the stretch."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBATV, FS Southwest (San Antonio), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE SPURS: White grew up in the Denver area and completed his college career at Colorado and he definitely had a stellar homecoming with 16 points on 7-of-10 shooting and five assists in his first playoff start. "He's spectacular for somebody who got put into that position," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich told reporters of White, who eventually became a starter due to Dejounte Murray's preseason knee injury. "To learn that position with a bunch of new players is really remarkable when he's done what he's done. So hopefully he'll continue to play that way because it's gonna be a long series." All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge was just 6-of-19 shooting while contributing 15 points and eight rebounds in Game 1.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS: Murray, who had 17 points and six steals, insisted that he will bounce back in Game 2 after being just 8-of-24 shooting, including that dreadful wide-open miss that might have been the difference between winning and losing. "He was wide open, I think it's a great shot for us," All-Star center Nikola Jokic told reporters afterward. "He didn't make it. I'm good with that. At least he was wide open. It was uncontested. We're good. We're going to live with that." While Murray struggled, shooting guard Gary Harris continued to put a recent slump in the rearview mirror by scoring 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Nuggets are 6-21 all-time in the playoffs against the Spurs after the Game 1 loss.
2. San Antonio was 7-of-15 from 3-point range in the opener, while holding Denver to 6-of-28.
3. Jokic had 10 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists in Game 1 to become the fourth player in NBA history to record a triple-double in his first career playoff game.