Nuggets claw back from down 20 to beat Spurs with Wembanyama out

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists, Jamal Murray scored 39 points and the Denver Nuggets rallied to beat San Antonio 136-131 on Thursday night, snapping the Spurs' five-game winning streak as Victor Wembanyama sat out with an injury.

San Antonio guard Stephon Castle had 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his third career triple-double.

With the Spurs trailing 132-129, Castle had a 3-pointer rattle off the rim with 20 seconds remaining. Murray sealed the victory with four straight free throws.

After trailing by 20 points early in the third quarter, Murray's 3-pointer gave Denver its first lead at 121-119 with 4:38 remaining. Murray's basket was the start of an 11-0 run.

Wembanyama was questionable due to right ankle soreness and ruled out after going through pregame warmups. He must play in 13 of San Antonio’s final 16 games for end-of-season award eligibility.

The Spurs are 10-5 without Wembanyama, who watched from the second row of the team’s bench. San Antonio lost for the first time in 22 games when holding a 20-point lead.

Denver outscored San Antonio 42-25 in the fourth quarter behind Murray, Jokic, Spencer Jones, Cam Johnson and Christian Braun.

Jones finished with 19 points, Johnson had 15 and Braun added 11.

De'Aaron Fox had 27 points and Devin Vassell scored 18 for San Antonio, which had won 16 of 17.

Up next

Nuggets: At Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.

Spurs: At Milwaukee on Tuesday night.

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