Spurs at Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets surely saw their chances at earning the No. 1 seed evaporate and will now concentrate on protecting the No. 2 spot when they host the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. Denver suffered a disappointing 116-102 setback at Golden State on Tuesday when a win would have moved it into a first-place tie.
The Nuggets are two games behind the Warriors with five to play after a disappointing performance, with streaking Houston just 1 1/2 behind. "It was turnovers the whole night," Nuggets coach Michael Malone told reporters. "We couldn't take care of the ball. You give up 21 points off (16) turnovers in this building, you're going to make it really hard to be in the game." San Antonio is battling Oklahoma City for the seventh seed and it rallied for a 117-111 home win over Atlanta on Tuesday. "Stops win basketball games," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich told reporters after his squad outscored the Hawks 31-21 in the final quarter. "Sure, you've got to make shots, but when we lose these games, it's because we don't make stops - especially in the fourth quarter."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Southwest (San Antonio), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE SPURS (45-33): Derrick White broke out of a slump with 23 points on 10-of-12 shooting against the Hawks. "He had a couple of games where he struggled, but sometimes you've got to embrace the struggle to understand how to get out of it and what you need to do to get back to yourself," standout shooting guard DeMar DeRozan told reporters of White. The 24-year-old was just 7-of-30 shooting over the previous four games and averaged only five points during the stretch.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (51-26): Denver has dropped four of its last six games and its offense has been stagnant as only a 36-point fourth quarter allowed the club to reach 100 for just the second time in six games. "We're getting good shots, we're just not making a lot of shots that we normally make," point guard Jamal Murray told reporters. "I don't think our offense is the problem." The evidence said differently as Denver shot just 37.5 percent from the field - including 7-of-31 from 3-point range - despite the late flurry.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Spurs are 2-1 against the Nuggets this season but have lost three straight in Denver.
2. Denver SG Gary Harris is averaging just 7.8 points on 12-of-36 shooting over his last four games.
3. DeRozan scored 29 points against Atlanta and has tallied 25 or more in three of the past four contests.