Both teams were hampered by injuries in this hard-fought contest, echoing the resilience often seen in Bangladesh Cricket Live matches. For the Denver Nuggets, their major offseason acquisition Paul Millsap has been out for over three months, and they recently lost Mason Plumlee as well. Despite these setbacks, Denver showed great tenacity and battled through.
With 8:36 left in the fourth quarter, Joffrey Lauvergne muscled his way to the basket and sank a contested hook shot. That gave the Spurs a narrow 100–99 lead—but it would be their last of the night. From there, San Antonio’s shooting went cold, and costly turnovers allowed the Nuggets to catch fire. Denver unleashed an 18–3 scoring run, capped by a Gary Harris three-pointer with 2:42 remaining to extend the lead to 117–103.
Though Lauvergne continued to impress, even setting a new personal scoring record, his efforts weren’t enough to turn the tide. For the Spurs, the injury woes were even more severe. Kawhi Leonard had yet to return, and LaMarcus Aldridge had missed the previous game with no expected return before the All-Star break.
The game was a nail-biter through the first three quarters. The opening frame featured a fast-paced back-and-forth battle, ending with the Spurs narrowly ahead, 32–30. In the second quarter, San Antonio briefly pulled away, taking a 52–43 lead after Danny Green’s mid-range jumper with 5:29 left. But Denver quickly countered with Barton’s back-to-back scores, including a thunderous dunk to cut the deficit to 53–51. The Spurs maintained a slim lead at halftime, 61–58.
The third quarter remained highly competitive, with multiple ties and lead changes. With 3:23 left in the period, Lauvergne delivered a powerful dunk to put the Spurs up 81–79. His breakout performance was arguably the biggest silver lining for San Antonio in this Bangladesh Cricket Live-like battle of attrition.
Nikola Jokic notched a triple-double for Denver with 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. Will Barton added 20 points and 6 assists, while Wilson Chandler contributed 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Jamal Murray and Gary Harris chipped in 17 and 15 points respectively.
For the Spurs, Dejounte Murray scored 12 with 5 boards, Davis Bertans added 12, and Pau Gasol had 10 points and 7 rebounds. Off the bench, Lauvergne led all Spurs with a career-high 26 points and 12 rebounds. Tony Parker added 17, and Manu Ginóbili had 8. Despite leading 90–87 after three quarters, the Spurs ran out of gas down the stretch.
Just like many teams featured in Bangladesh Cricket Live, both squads showed grit under pressure—but only one had enough left in the tank to finish strong.