Preview: San Antonio At Denver
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, November 27, 2015
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
The San Antonio Spurs seek their ninth consecutive victory over Denver when they visit the Nuggets on Friday. San Antonio kept its streak alive earlier this month when point guard Tony Parker scored a season-best 25 points in a 109-98 home win on Nov. 18.
The Spurs are one of the hottest teams in the NBA with nine victories in their last 10 games, and star small forward Kawhi Leonard scored 26 points in Wednesday’s 88-83 win over the Dallas Mavericks. “Kawhi is coming into his own,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said afterward of Leonard’s fourth 20-point outing in five games. “He’s feeling comfortable being the guy to take shots and we put him in those positions. He’s performing wonderfully.” Denver is attempting to salvage the finale of a four-game homestand and has lost four straight overall, including three by double digits. Small forward Danilo Gallinari had 20 points and a career-best 18 rebounds in Tuesday’s 111-94 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers for his second double-double in three games.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Southwest (San Antonio), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE SPURS (12-3): Forward LaMarcus Aldridge was lured away from Portland as a free agent to be San Antonio’s go-to guy but he is playing second fiddle to Leonard. Aldridge scored 18 points against Dallas after missing two games with an ankle injury and has scored 20 points just three times while Leonard has nine 20-point outings. “I don’t know if he played to this level last year,” Aldridge told reporters of Leonard. “But he’s playing at a big-time level, taking big-time baskets. He’s been playing at a very high level, so we all look for him.”
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (6-9): Point guard Emmanuel Mudiay and coach Mike Malone got into a verbal altercation late in the loss to the Clippers. Malone described the disagreement as something that occurred from the frustration of losing and asserted that he has no issues with Mudiay, and the point guard expressed similar sentiments. “It’s just both of us being competitors,” Mudiay told reporters. “It probably was my fault, I could have been doing a lot more. So I kind of put the blame on myself. I’ve got nothing against Coach, I respect him. He’s a great person, and I have all the respect in the world for him.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Nuggets have lost seven of their last 11 home games against the Spurs.
2. San Antonio allowed an average of 83 points while winning each of its last three games.
3. Denver hopes to get power forward Kenneth Faried back after he has missed the last two games with a sprained left ankle.
PREDICTION: Spurs 101, Nuggets 94