Denver, CO – Andre Iguodala finished with a 12-point, 13- rebound and 10-assist triple-double, and the Denver Nuggets posted their franchise-record 21st win in a row at home with a 96-86 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
Perhaps more importantly, the win moved Denver a full game ahead of idle Memphis for the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference standings with four games to play.
The Nuggets matched the club record for wins with their 54th on the season, despite not having Ty Lawson (plantar fascia tear) for the fifth straight game. Denver received 29 points and eight rebounds from Wilson Chandler, as well as 28 points off the bench from Corey Brewer in the victory.
"We need homecourt in the first round, so we're going to get every win we can get," Brewer said.
The Spurs are now tied with Oklahoma City for the top spot in the West. Tim Duncan and Gary Neal each had 17 points in the setback.
"When you don't make shots it's pretty easy ro get fast breaks the way they did. I don't know what we were from (3-point range) but it wasn't good. When you're that bad from the 3-point line and you turn it over at the same time people make runs," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.
Tony Parker sat with a neck injury for the third time in four games and Manu Ginobili missed his sixth in a row with a hamstring issue.
The depleted Nuggets, who won't have Danilo Gallinari (torn ACL) for the rest of the season, simply came out flat. They fell behind 14-0 and in addition to committing seven turnovers, they shot just 21.7 percent (5-for-23) and managed only 11 first quarter points.
However, the second period produced much better results. After falling behind, 20-11, the Nuggets went on a 13-3 run to take the lead on Kenneth Faried's jumper. A layup from Andre Miller gave them a four-point edge with 3 1/2 minutes left before they took a 38-37 lead into the break.
In the third, San Antonio broke a 45-45 tie with six straight points, but Chandler scored half of the Nuggets' points during a quarter-closing 24-12 run, which sent Denver into the fourth with a 69-63 lead.
The Nuggets then blew it open in the final frame, scoring the first 13 points of the period. The Spurs missed their first seven shots and trailed by as many as 19. They cut their deficit to five with 1:33 left, but never got closer.
Game Notes
San Antonio had won nine of its last 12 meetings with Denver coming in ... The Nuggets have won 20 of their last 22 games overall ... Denver had a 21-15 edge in fastbreak points.
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