Nuggets at Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs have won 13 straight home games against Denver so they are in a good position heading into Thursday's Game 3 of the Western Conference first-round series against the visiting Nuggets. The Spurs split two games in Denver and now will look to continue their longstanding home dominance against the Nuggets.
Second-seeded Denver was in extreme danger of being in a 0-2 hole when it trailed by 19 points late in the third quarter of Game 2 before outplaying seventh-seeded San Antonio the rest of the way to record a 114-105 victory. "We don't quit," reserve guard Malik Beasley told reporters. "Playoff experience matters, but as long as you play hard and play together, that's what matters on the court." The collapse rates as a big missed opportunity for the Spurs, considering how they haven't lost to the Nuggets in San Antonio since March 4, 2012. "We got Game 1. We fought, tried to get Game 2, but we got homecourt shifting our way," Spurs guard DeMar DeRozan told reporters. "Now, it's on us to go home and do what we need to do, understand if we take care of home, like we've been doing all year, we can come back here with an opportunity. We feel great where we're at. We understood it wasn't going to be a cake walk."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBATV, Altitude (Denver), FS Southwest (San Antonio)
ABOUT THE NUGGETS: Point guard Jamal Murray made critical mistakes down the stretch in Game 1 and he was dreadful for the first three quarters of Game 2 before erupting to score 21 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter of the comeback victory. Murray missed all eight of his field-goal attempts over the first three quarters but coach Michael Malone stuck with him and he was a blistering 8-of-9 shooting as Denver outscored the Spurs 39-23 over the final 12 minutes. "Jamal was trying to play the right way," Malone told reporters afterward. "I didn't foresee the fourth quarter he was going to have, but I knew in my heart he needed to get these minutes. I needed to show him I believed in him. That's powerful. Really proud of him. He was so frustrated at halftime. It was great to see him have some success."
ABOUT THE SPURS: San Antonio had its eyes opened by the comeback of the youthful Nuggets and will be looking to halt Denver's well-earned momentum in Game 3. "They obviously have something to prove," backup point guard Patty Mills told reporters of the Nuggets. "We know how good they are. It's a confident team that is going to come out very aggressive. We need to be ready and we need to improve." DeRozan poured in 31 points, power forward LaMarcus Aldridge added 24 and point guard Derrick White had 17 points in Game 2 but nobody else on the squad reached double digits.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nuggets SG Gary Harris scored 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting in Game 2 and is averaging 21.5 points in the series.
2. White is averaging 16.5 points on 14-of-21 shooting in the series.
3. Denver G-F Will Barton is averaging 9.0 points on just 7-of-25 shooting - including 1-of-11 from 3-point range.