Nuggets outscore Spurs 30-19 in fourth quarter, win 117-109

DENVER — The San Antonio Spurs entered tonight’s matchup against the Nuggets without All-Stars Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge. The Spurs were also missing Rudy Gay and Manu Ginobili exited the game and did not return after only logging 14 minutes.

Of course, it’s the Spurs and none of that mattered. Denver and San Antonio traded barbs for three quarters until a 15-3 run late in the fourth quarter pushed the Nuggets to a 117-109 win.

Before tonight, Denver had lost five straight and 15 of its last 16 games to San Antonio. The Nuggets’ last win over the Spurs came during the final week of the 2015-16 season when San Antonio rested four of its five starters.

Denver trailed 100-99 with 8:36 remaining but came all the way back to lead 114-103 at the 3:17 mark of the fourth on a Wilson Chandler layup. The Nuggets iced the game a few possessions later on a Gary Harris three that put Denver up double-digits.

For Denver, Nikola Jokic finished with a team-high 23 points along with 13 rebounds and 11 assists. Will Barton scored 20 points.

The Nuggets outscored the Spurs 30-19 in the fourth quarter.

San Antonio came out red-hot and hit 14 of its first 21 shots from the field. The Spurs led 61-58 at the half and shot 22-33 over the game’s first two quarters. Noted Nuggets’ killer Davis Bertans has 12 points in the first half and Dejounte Murray had 10 on a perfect 5-5 shooting.

Three Nuggets — Jokic (12), Barton (12) and Murray (10) —  scored in double-figures in the first half.

Denver travels to Milwaukee for a matchup with the Bucks on Thursday in its final game before the All-Star break.