San Antonio Spurs: 3 takeaways from Game 4 loss vs. Nuggets

1 of 4

(Photos by Mark Sobhani/NBAE via Getty Images) /

With a pivotal Game 4 now in the books, what can we learn about the San Antonio Spurs’ devastating loss to the Denver Nuggets?

The streak is over for the San Antonio Spurs. After 14 attempts, going back to Nov. 11, 2012, the Denver Nuggets finally won a game against the Spurs on their home court to even up the series. It was an aggressive game too, as Nuggets head coach Michael Malone stated he was not happy with always playing from behind against the Spurs.

The first quarter started out how it has all series, with the Spurs jumping out to a big lead, 34-22. LaMarcus Aldridge poured in 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting (including a beautiful corner 3-pointer), while DeMar DeRozan made all three of his field attempts on his way to eight points for the quarter.

But then the Nuggets did what they have done the previous two games in the second quarter and began to rally the troops. They hit their first two baskets to start the quarter, forcing Gregg Popovich to burn a timeout early. The Nuggets ended the quarter on a 20-9 run, pulling even for a 54-54 score at halftime.

The Nuggets then poured gas on the fire after a halftime breather, with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray combining for 20 of the team’s 37 points in the quarter. Jokic and Murray combined to shoot 5-of-8 from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe.

The game was pretty out of hand after that point, as Popovich didn’t even play LaMarcus Aldridge in the fourth quarter. Instead, he tinkered with various lineups, including Lonnie Walker IV for the last 5:01 of the game after DeRozan was ejected. The Nuggets ultimately finished off the Spurs, 117-103.

The series shifts back to Denver for Game 5 as this series becomes a best-of-three now. What can we learn about the Spurs from this game as they attempt to take the series lead back?