Derrick White and DeMar DeRozan nearly led the Spurs to a W against the Nuggets

The Spurs once again battled a hot Nuggets team, owners of the current longest winning streak in the league. Despite the good guys’ resilience, they dropped their 5th in a row. Derrick White led the way with 25 points and 3 steals while DeMar DeRozan poured in 24 points and 12 assists for a double-double. Jakob Poeltl also bounced back from a mini-slump to notch a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Derrick White, in particular, has found his footing of late. He played big minutes in Denver and kept the Spurs competitive.

DeMar DeRozan threw some weight around down low and bullied his way to the basket for this emphatic slam:

We miss you Lonnie Walker IV! Where have you been? (Thomas Jefferson: “Uh, France.” — Sorry, I’ve been watching Hamilton again.) The Spurs have missed Walker’s scoring and play-making abilities in the nine games he missed. Here, he barrels down the lane and creates opportunities for teammates:

Lonnie Walker’s return to the court netted only 17 minutes and change, but he made the most of those minutes with a 8 points and 2 assists. Here, his slam dunk was the result of a nice bounce pass from DeRozan:

Dejounte Murray started the Spurs’ scoring for the night with this nifty wrap around bounce pass to a cutting Jakob Poeltl:

If you want to know what mild anxiety looks like, just watch this sequence of six passes while wondering the whole time if the shot clock is going to run out on the Spurs. Fortunately, the collaborative teamwork concludes with a Keldon Johnson euro step to a bucket.

Drew Eubanks’s SKY hook looks a bit like the great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s patented move.

Me: “I think Eubanks’s the greatest, but my dad says he doesn’t work hard enough on defense.”
“And he says that lots of times, Drew doesn’t even run down court. And that he doesn’t really try . . . except during the playoffs.”
Drew Murdock: [breaking character] “The heck I don’t! LISTEN, KID! I’ve been hearing that crap ever since I was at Oregon State. I’m out there busting my buns every night! Tell your old man to drag Jokic and Gordon up and down the court for … 12 minutes!”

If you missed the gritty near-comeback last night, here are the full-game highlights:

Next up, the Spurs take on the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, April 11, 2021.