San Antonio Spurs: 3 takeaways from Game 2 loss vs. Nuggets

The San Antonio Spurs were so close to starting their first round playoff series up 2-0. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to hold the Denver Nuggets off.

The San Antonio Spurs dominated for roughly three quarters of Game 2 against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.

DeMar DeRozan shot 11-for-19 from the floor, which included an impressive 9-of-9 mark from the free throw line, to finish with 31 points. They held Jamal Murray to three points for three quarters, and Will Barton finished the game with three points after a miserable 1-for-10 night from the floor. The Spurs’ defensive shortcomings from the regular season were erased … for three quarters.

The final score ended up being 114-105, but it felt closer than that. The Nuggets were able to score some points late to give themselves extra cushion as the final buzzer sounded. San Antonio won the rebounding battle and shot a much better percentage from the free throw line, but the Nuggets couldn’t be stopped when they were getting the ball inside. Due to Murray’s late-game heroics, what happened early in the game didn’t matter.

The Spurs came up short in Game 2, but they can use what worked well moving forward in the series. Home-court advantage now belongs to them after their win in Game 1. If they’re able to play like they did for much of Game 2, they have a great opportunity to be the team that causes a huge upset in these playoffs. Bearing that in mind, here are three takeaways from Tuesday’s loss.