Jokic, Murray rebound from rough Texas trip to lead Nuggets past Spurs

The Spurs bottled up the Nuggets’ two best offensive players Wednesday in San Antonio. By sending waves of defenders at Nikola Jokic and letting Jamal Murray brick his way to a 4-of-19 shooting performance, San Antonio pulled out a win over the undermanned Nuggets.

Two nights later, the Spurs couldn’t keep either down. Murray and Jokic were in rhythm from the start. The 21-year-old point guard went for 21 of his game-high 31 points in the first half. Jokic, meanwhile, dominated all aspects of the game. The big man narrowly missed out on a triple-double, scoring 21, grabbing nine rebounds and handing out nine assists.

Led by those two, Denver beat San Antonio 102-99 to avenge Wednesday’s stinker and snap a two-game losing streak.

The Nuggets built up a 14-point halftime lead, but going into the fourth quarter their advantage had shrunk to four. Malik Beasley made a couple of key plays at the start of the quarter, including sinking four free throws and draining a 3. The high-flying third-year guard finished with 21 to provide support behind Murray and Jokic. Beasley might’ve closed if not for a turned left ankle that forced him to head to the locker room and miss the rest of the game.

Murray also dealt with ankle issues. He fell to the ground with 4:31 to and was grasping his right ankle, though he stayed in the game. The Nuggets led by one with less than 30 seconds to go. Monte Morris drove, got fouled and knocked down a pair of free throws to push the lead to three. San Antonio didn’t get a final shot off.

LaMarcus Aldridge led the way for the Spurs. He had 24 on 11-for-22 shooting.

The Nuggets, who could be without another wing if Beasley’s not able to go, face a quick turnaround. They play the Suns on Saturday in Phoenix.