The Nuggets barely won the first period, but erupted in the second, winning that one 42-23, boasting a 20-point lead at halftime. Denver's bench annihilated the Spurs 83-27, and Leonard's replacements did not meet expectations. Rudy Gay went 5-18 and 3-13 from 3PT range for a meager 13 points. Iman Shumpert was the high scorer for San Antonio, and that is quite telling, finishing with 25 points. Thaddeus Young fared better than Gay, starting at power forward, with 20 points, but only 3 rebounds as Nikola Jokic's 16 points and 13 rebounds happened.
Most of all, the "Manimal" Kenneth Faried crashed in 27 points and 12 rebounds, going 100% tonight on 10-10 shooting, i.e. dunking past Pau Gasol who was one if not ten steps slow tonight. Anderson Varejao and Joffrey Lauvergne did little to help, as Paul Millsap also feasted on the poor defensive effort (19 points, 9 rebounds), with the Nuggets tallying 86 points in the paint. Denver's prowess from long range also hurt the Spurs, who managed to cut the lead to 12 in the 3rd quarter, but the Nuggets surged again winning the final period 49-27, silencing the already-stunned crowd. The Spurs offense was splintered, as well, compared to Denver.
"I'm sick to my stomach," Coach Popovich said after the game. "Do you have any Pepto-Bismol?"
Patty Mills had just 13 points; Tony Parker finished with 9 and 5 assists. It may not have been the worst loss in Spurs franchise history, but it's the biggest loss in quite some time. Shots are shots, but defense just needs to be on-point, especially for the Spurs team culture. The team did not flow tonight.