Denver, CO – Danilo Gallinari tallied 28 points and nine rebounds in the Denver Nuggets' 112-106 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Kenneth Faried added 19 points and 11 boards, while Kosta Koufos pulled down 14 rebounds for the Nuggets, who have won three in a row and improved to 7-1 at the Pepsi Center this season.
"It was good to see that we could keep our composure and close the game out like we did," Nuggets guard Andre Iguodala said.
Tim Duncan recorded 31 points, 18 rebounds and six assists for San Antonio, which has dropped four of its last five contests.
The Spurs trailed by 15 heading into the fourth quarter, but cut the deficit to 103-100 with 4 1/2 minutes left following a 17-3 Spurs run. Duncan had six points during the stretch.
Denver, though, countered with a 7-2 spurt.
After Iguodala put down Ty Lawson's miss from beyond the arc, Duncan dunked one home at the other end. But then Gallinari hit a triple and Andre Miller's jump shot made it 110-102 with 2:37 left.
A bit later, Manu Ginobili's jumper trimmed the margin to 110-106, and Lawson turned the ball over with 32 ticks left. But Patty Mills, Danny Green and Ginobili all missed treys and Miller sunk two free throws at the other end to seal the outcome.
"We didn't give up," Duncan said. "We were attacking but just didn't make enough plays."
The Spurs led, 28-26, after a quarter of play, but Denver outscored the visitors, 29-20, in the second and took a 55-48 edge into the break.
The Nuggets had a 90-75 margin heading into the final frame.
Game Notes
Iguodala filled the stat sheet with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists ... San Antonio turned the ball over 15 times, which led to 20 Denver points ... Ginobili had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists.
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