According to Tim Bontemps, Keyonte George has a grade two right hamstring strain.

Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George has a grade two right hamstring strain, sources told ESPN. He’s expected to be reevaluated in two weeks.

George has had a breakout season in his third year in the NBA for the Jazz, averaging 23.6 points and 6.1 assists in 54 games for Utah.

— Tim Bontemps (@TimBontemps) March 13, 2026

A quick Google search reveals that a grade two hamstring strain can take somewhere between three to eight weeks. With the season nearing the end, it doesn’t seem likely we’ll see Keyonte George again. Not only does it benefit the Jazz to lose these games to keep their picks, but it also does no good to put George in harm’s way. Hamstring injuries are tricky at the best of times. On top of that, Utah is not making the playoffs at this point in the season. With Keyonte George’s incredible breakout this season, he’s a core part of the team going forward.

Now, the Utah Jazz have an opportunity to experiment with different players who wouldn’t get playtime normally. Will we see Cody Williams get more experience at the point? Will we have Ace Bailey initiating even more offense? Very likely.

The Boston Celtics continued completed 3-game road trip on Thursday night, with a final stop in Oklahoma City to take on the reigning champs. In what was a brilliant game of basketball, Payton Pritchard had a game winning attempt for three fall short as the C’s dropped a heart breaker in OKC, 104-102. Jaylen Brown had 34 points, Pritchard 14 points and the Boston bench came up big on the road, but it just wasn’t enough.

Roster-wise, Jayson Tatum was ruled out prior to the game due to a scheduled rest night; Derrick White and Nikola Vucevic were also out for the game. That opened the door for Payton Pritchard to return to the starting lineup alongside Brown, Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman, and Neemias Queta for Boston. Chet Holgren, SGA, Ajay Mitchell, Lu Dort, and Cason Wallace started for the home team. Jalen Williams, Isaiah Hartenstein, and Branden Carlson were all unavailable for OKC.

Pritchard hit the first shot of the game on a mid-range pull-up over Wallace; Dort hit his straight-on triple as both teams eased into the contest. Pritchard nailed his second shot of the night with a step-back over Holmgren — he looked aggressive to start this game after missing the big San Antonio clash.

Hauser got in on the mid-range act; he hit his first shot and would have 5 points after one quarter. Ron Harper Jr. had another nice showing in the first quarter; off the back of his fantastic San Antonio game, he had 5 first-quarter points on 2-3 shooting.

Rookie Hugo Gonzalez played a solid quarter for Boston with 6 points in five and a half minutes. Brown had 8 points, 3 assists, and 2 boards in the first quarter as Boston led 28-27 after the first quarter of play.

Boston scored the first six points to start the 2nd quarter, Jordan Walsh and Luka Garza providing the spark as Boston went up 35-27. Walsh laced a triple as Boston whizzed the ball around the court with a series of fine passes. Boston’s bench was up and rowdy, as they had combined for 21 points of the team’s 38 early points.

Scheierman and Pritchard hit back-to-back shots as Brown watched on from the bench with Celtics up 43-36 on an entertaining start to the game. Brown returned to the game and swung a pass out to Scheierman in the corner; he hit his first triple of the game in front of the Boston bench.

JB was whistled for his third foul of the night, sprinting back on D to attempt a shot block on Wiggins. SGA rattled in his second three-pointer of the game, and he had 13 points with three minutes to go in the first half. Brown crossed over Dort and drove to the bucket; he was fouled with three OKC defenders in his airspace. JB would go 1 of 2 from the stripe; the score is now tied at 47 apiece.

Luka Garza played the role of a stretch big and nailed a big three-pointer. Boston swung the ball to the corner once more and found Hugo for his first triple of the night on the shorter three-point line. Scheierman hit a relocation three as SGA was left flat-footed, the road Celtics hitting the Thunder hard in the first half. A signature Payton Pritchard three at the buzzer of the half saw the C’s up 59-56 thanks to a stellar bench performance after a half of play.

Boston’s bench had 27 points in the first half; the team registered 15 assists on 23-49 shooting. As a team, Boston was 43% from beyond the arc after 24 minutes of play.

JB grabbed a board over Holmgren to start the third and converted on the putback, was fouled, and hit the extra shot. With Vooch out for Boston with a finger injury, Luka Garza was playing well for Boston on both ends. Hauser hit a wide-open three-pointer for the C’s, the team’s eleventh of the night.

Brown took on Ajay Mitchell and rose over him at the free throw line to hit a pull-up jumper. He went to the foul line for two shots on the next play and hit his sixteenth point of the game. SGA hit his 21st point of the game, overtaking Wilt Chamberlain’s record for most consecutive 20+ point games in NBA history. Wilt held the record for a staggering 63 years until tonight.

Scheierman continued his fantastic road trip shooting-wise; he hit his third three of the game from way downtown, giving a thumbs up in recognition of his recent injury. Queta took the smaller OKC players inside and dunked home an emphatic two-hander; Gonzalez stripped Ajay Mitchell in the key during a good third-quarter stretch for Boston, up 79-75.

Jordan Walsh entered the game at the end of the third and immediately grabbed a defensive rebound and dived on the floor for a loose ball. Gonzalez blocked a three-point attempt from Williams; the C’s young bench was providing a spark on the third night off the road trip.

Hugo dumped off a bounce pass to JB in the dunker spot; he rammed home an emphatic dunk for Boston. Hugo crashed into the defensive glass and was fouled by Isaiah Joe on the loose ball gather. Boston would take a three-point lead into the final quarter, 83-80, both teams playing some tremendous ball after three.

Brown dunked home his 27th point of the game on a solo breakaway to start the 4th quarter. OKC levelled the game at 87 points as SGA converted on a finger roll layup with 9 minutes to go. OKC took a two-point lead as Boston recorded a series of scoreless possessions. Garza had an illegal screen on Dort as Boston had 10 turnovers in the 4th quarter.

Boston had a call overturned as Williams grabbed a piece of Pritchard’s jersey as he rolled to the basket. Joe Mazzulla and the coaching staff with the great challenge scores tied at 91-91. Both teams combined for just 7-28 from the field at the 5 minute mark of the 4th quarter. Brown was fouled by Dort beyond the three point line he would hit all three attempts to take back a slim one point lead.

SGA drilled a jumper at the foul line for the Thunder to take a four point lead after the C’s had a pair of blown plays. Boston entered the bonus after the Thunder received their 5th team foul, Queta hit both free throws to cut it to 2 points. Pritchard drilled a tough shot over SGA to tie things up at 98-98. Dort was whistled for a trip on Brown, after the refs missed a similar play in the first half, Brown leveling the scores at 100 with 30 seconds to go.

Both teams were out of gas to end it, Boston digging deep with two starters out on a tough road trip. Gilgeous-Alexander hit another mid range jumper for 35th point of the game, OKC up a pair with 29 seconds to go. JB nailed a tough turnaround to even the scores at 102-102. Holmgren hit two free throws with Boston needing a 2 to tie it and a three to win with 0.8 seconds on the clock. Pritchard came up short on the final play of regulation, just short of the game winning three-pointer.

The Boston Celtics now travel home to host the Washington Wizards on Saturday at 6 pm EST.

Oklahoma Nijel Pack hit four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, Derrion Reed had 15 points and 10 rebounds,and No. 11 seed Oklahoma beat sixth-seeded Texas A&M 83-63 in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday night to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

Oklahoma (19-14) plays No. 17 and third-seeded Arkansas — which beat the Sooners 83-79 on Jan. 27 — in the quarterfinals Friday.

Xzayvier Brown added 16 points and Tae Davis had 14 points and nine rebounds. Mohamed Wague had eight rebounds to go with seven points and three blocks.

The Sooners hit six 3-pointers in a 22-5 run that gave them the lead for good and made it 28-11 midway through the first half. Griffen answered with a 3-pointer, but Davis scored the final six points in a 10-0 spurt to give Oklahoma a 24-point lead with five minutes left until halftime.

Pop Isaacs hit back-to-back 3s to spark a 10-0 run that trimmed Texas A&M's deficit to 54-42 with 15:25 left in the game but the Aggies got no closer.

Rashaun Agee had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Texas A&M (21-11). Agee broke the program's single-season record with 13 double-doubles (Tyler Davis had 12 in 2017-18).

Rylan Griffen also scored 13 points and Isaacs added 12.

Oklahoma outrebounded the Aggies 48-33, 19-11 on the offensive glass, and outscored Texas A&M 18-1 in second-chance points.

Up next

Oklahoma: Advances to the semifinals.

Texas A&M: Awaits a potential postseason invitation.

___

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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record for consecutive games with 20 points or more, scoring 35 points in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 104-102 win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren was fouled on a rebound with 0.9 seconds remaining and made two free throws to break a 102-all tie. Boston’s Payton Pritchard missed a long 3-pointer as time expired.

Gilgeous-Alexander has scored at least 20 in 127 consecutive games, topping Chamberlain’s mark that had stood since 1963. He hit a midrange jumper with 7:04 left in the third quarter that gave him 21 points and tied the game at 69-all. He finished with nine assists and six rebounds and made 13 of 18 field goals.

The Thunder won their seventh straight game — all since Gilgeous-Alexander returned from an abdominal strain that kept him out of the All-Star Game.

Jaylen Brown scored 34 points for the Celtics. Boston’s Jayson Tatum sat out as he works his way back from surgery to repair his right Achilles tendon. He’s played in three games since his return, including Tuesday’s loss at San Antonio.

NUGGETS 136, SPURS 131

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 31 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists, Jamal Murray scored 39 points and Denver rallied to beat San Antonio, snapping its 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.

SUNS 123, PACERS 108

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Devin Booker scored 43 points, Jalen Green had 36 and Phoenix beat NBA-worst Indiana for its fourth straight victory and the Pacers’ 11th loss in a row.

Seventh in the Western Conference, the Suns played the second game of a six-game trip they opened Tuesday night with a victory over Milwaukee.

Booker was 14 of 31 from field, hit 4 of 7 3-ponters and made 11 free throws without a miss. He also had seven rebounds and five assists. Green shot 14 of 23, making three 3-pointers. Royce O’Neale had 15 points on 5-of-8 3-point shooting.

Andrew Nembhard led the Pacers with 23 points — all the first half after he was questionable because of a lower-back problem.

Center Ivica Zubac had eight points and six rebounds in 16 minutes in his Pacers debut. Sidelined by a sprained left ankle since December, Zubac joined Indiana in a trade-deadline deal with the Los Angeles Clippers.

PISTONS 131, 76ERS 109

DETROIT (AP) — Duncan Robinson scored 19 points and Eastern Conference-leading Detroit beat Philadelphia for its second straight victory after a season-worst four-game losing streak.

Javonte Green added 17 points, and Jalen Duren had 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Pistons didn’t trail in either victory, beating Brooklyn and Philadelphia by an average of 30 points.

Cade Cunningham, who was double-teamed for much of the game, only took six shots from the floor, matching the third-lowest total of his career. He finished with eight points, but had 13 assists and five rebounds in 28 minutes.

Marjon Beauchamp scored 17 points, and Cam Payne had 15 for Philadelphia. The 76ers have lost five of seven.

Detroit led by 17 points in the second quarter, but the 76ers got back into it by aggressively trapping Cunningham. As a result, he only had eight points in the half and his nine assists were balanced by four turnovers.

MAGIC 136, WIZARDS 131, OT

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jalen Suggs scored a season-high 28 points and made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:27 remaining in overtime as Orlando extended its longest winning streak of the season to six games with a victory over Washington.

Two nights after being embarrassed when Miami’s Bam Adebayo scored 83 points against them, the second-highest performance in NBA history, the Wizards fought back from 17 points down in the fourth quarter to tie it when Bilal Coulibaly banked in a 3-pointer with 5.8 seconds remaining.

Coulibaly made another 3 to tie it at 131 with 1:39 to play in OT, but Suggs answered with his 3 and then added two free throws with 56 seconds left.

Tristan da Silva added 26 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks for the Magic, including one on Coulibaly’s drive to the basket in OT. Desmond Bane scored 22 points, Wendell Carter Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Paolo Banchero finished with 18 points and 10 boards.

Coulibably scored a career-high 29 points, but Washington lost its 10th straight. Alex Sarr had 16 points and Trae Young had 15 points and six assists in 21 minutes.

HEAT 112, BUCKS 105

MIAMI (AP) — Bam Adebayo scored 21 points in the game following his 83-point performance, Pelle Larsson had a career-high 28 points and Miami beat Milwaukee for its season-best seventh consecutive victory.

Adebayo scored 12 of his points in the fourth quarter for the Heat, who remained No. 6 in the Eastern Conference — just percentage points behind No. 5 Orlando, which has won six straight. The Heat and Magic meet on Saturday night.

Kasparas Jakučionis scored 18 points, Davion Mitchell scored 13 and Kel’el Ware grabbed 13 rebounds for Miami.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 31 points for the Bucks, who got 19 points from Bobby Portis Jr. and a 16-point, 10-assist game from Ryan Rollins.

Antetokounmpo had a wide-open 3-point try from the top of the key that would have tied the game with 52 seconds left, but it rimmed out. Larsson controlled the rebound, then made a 3-pointer of his own 24 seconds later for a six-point lead — essentially sealing the win.

Miami again was without Norman Powell (groin), Andrew Wiggins (toe), Tyler Herro (quad) and Nikola Jovic (back).

HAWKS 109, NETS 97

ATLANTA (AP) — Jalen Johnson had 21 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, Zaccharie Risacher scored 19 points and Atlanta extended the NBA’s longest current winning streak to eight games, beating Brooklyn.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 18 points and CJ McCollum had 14 for Atlanta, which began the streak with a win over Brooklyn on Feb. 22. The Hawks moved into eighth in the Eastern Conference, 1 1/2 games behind seventh-place Toronto.

Josh Minott scored a career-high 24 points for the Nets, who have lost 12 of 14. Brooklyn was without leading scorer Michael Porter Jr., who has a sprained right ankle.

The Nets took an 83-82 lead at the start of the fourth quarter before McCollum scored six points during a 10-0 run by the Hawks. Brooklyn got no closer than four points the rest of the way.

MAVERICKS 120, GRIZZLIES 112

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Khris Middleton scored 22 of his season-high 35 points in the fourth quarter, Daniel Gafford added a season-best 22 points and Dallas snapped an eight-game losing steak with a victory over Memphis.

Max Christie and Cooper Flagg added 13 points apiece for Dallas. Middleton was 10 of 17 for the game, including 8 of 10 from 3-point range. Gafford added 14 rebounds.

Jaylen Wells led Memphis with 23 points and GG Jackson finished with 20. Javon Small had 19 points and nine assists. Taylor Hendricks had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The Mavericks, who led by 20 in the first half, were outscored 30-21 in the third quarter and led just 86-84 going into the final period. Middleton had the first 11 Dallas points of the fourth to take the lead back to double digits and went to have the highest-scoring quarter of his career.

LAKERS 142, BULLS 130

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Luka Doncic had 51 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, LeBron James added 18 points in his return after missing three games because of injuries and Los Angeles used a strong third quarter to defeat Chicago.

Doncic scored 50 points for the first time as a Laker following the blockbuster trade that sent him from Dallas to Los Angeles in February 2025. It was Doncic’s 13th 40-point game in 82 appearances for Los Angeles, moving into ninth in franchise history.

Austin Reaves chipped in with 30 points, Deandre Ayton had 23 points and 10 rebounds for his 20th double-double of the season, and the Lakers’ four-game winning streak is their longest since running off seven in a row Nov. 14-30.

Los Angeles moved ahead of the idle Houston Rockets into third place in the Western Conference.

Josh Giddey scored 27 points and Matas Buzelis had 22 for the short-handed Bulls, who have alternated wins and losses over their past six games following 11 straight losses in February.

The Utah Jazz are dealing with multiple injuries this season and are in need of players to fill the roster to finish the season. Here is a list of the Jazz’s most recent transactions.

Utah Jazz waive Mo Bamba

According to Kevin Reynolds, the Utah Jazz have waived Mo Bamba before the end of his 10-day contract because of illness.

The Utah Jazz waived Mo Bamba before his 10-day contract was up.

He contracted an illness and was unable to travel with the team to Portland, Sacramento and Minnesota this week. His 10-day would have run out over that time.

More here: https://t.co/GjJHTqa6yy

— Kevin Reynolds (@Kevinreynolds30) March 13, 2026

It’s too bad that things didn’t work out with Bamba, who will always draw interest with his incredible physical tools. But like with all other teams he’s been on, he didn’t leave any sort of lasting impression and the Jazz are moving on.

Utah Jazz sign Bez Mbeng alongside Andersson Garcia

We got the debut of Andersson Garcia yesterday, who had signed a 10-day contract right before the game.

We have signed forward Andersson Garcia to a 10-day contract.

Details 📰👇#TakeNotehttps://t.co/acvIoOSnjp

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 11, 2026

It looks like with the release of Mo Bamba, the Jazz are also signing Bez Mbeng.

The Utah Jazz are signing Bez Mbeng to a 10-day contract, per sources. The Yale product has spent this 2025-26 season with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

— Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) March 12, 2026

Mbeng is a defensive standout from Yale who adds to the defensive mentality that Garcia appears to bring.

The Ivy League Player of the Year and 3x Defensive Player of the Year is averaging 6.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals on 44.7% FG on the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

Jazz are collecting some defensive dawgs. https://t.co/Cqn4yurclWpic.twitter.com/t9PqVkZGgt

— Kato Pariña (@KatoParinaSLC) March 12, 2026

With the injury to Keyonte George, Utah needs more depth, and they’re adding it with Garcia and Mbeng. It appears the Jazz have found a real piece in Blake Hinson. Will they find another in one of these additions?

The Houston Rockets open a five-game homestand that includes five losable games.

“But Armin,” you say, “the New Orleans Pelicans are 22-45! They suck!”

“Well actually,” I respond as I push my glassed up the bridge of my nose, “the Pelicans are 7-3 over their last 10 games. That includes wins over the Toronto Raptors, Golden State Warriror, and Philadelphia 76ers. All three losses came on the road to good teams. Oh, and the Pelicans already have an incredible win over the Rockets back in December. Trust me, I was there and it sucked.

This current run has coincided with Dejounte Murray’s return to the court. Murray is averaging 17.6 points, 5.4 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per game in his seven games back. He’s given the Pelicans another shot creator and his defense raises the floor for the entire team.

It also bears mentioning that the Pelicans do not own their own first round pick thanks for the Derrick Queen trade. They have zero reason to tank, and this is their prime opportunity to test proof of concept with their current roster. If they play this well for the next month, they can keep their roster intact and add around the edges in an attempt to make a playoff push next season. If the team starts losing, they can decide whether a full or soft rebuild is the better route. Murray, Herbert Jones, and Trey Murphy III are going to have suitors and each probably nets at least a first round pick.

After tonight, the Rockets play the Los Angeles Lakers twice, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Miami Heat (on a back-to-back) in Houston.

Tip-off

7pm CT

How To Watch

Space City Home Network

Injury Report

Rockets

Alperen Sengun: GTD

Steven Adams: OUT

Fred VanVleet: OUT

Jae’Sean Tate: OUT

Pelicans

Bryce McGowens: OUT

The Line (as of this post)

HOU -6.5

Check here for updates

Looking ahead because we can

Monday night at home against the Los Angeles Lakers

Keith Smith, writing for Spotrac Thursday, reports that once again the Brooklyn Nets will be among the NBA leaders in cap space and spending power in 2026-27. They won’t have the $60 million they did this season, the most in the league, but Smith projects they’ll still be top three with around $46.9 million. That’s behind only the Chicago Bulls ($63.5 million) and the Los Angeles Lakers ($48.4 million.)

Smith puts the Bulls, Lakers and Nets in the top tier of his projections,

Big markets with enough cap space to chase a max player or to go after several players to fill out their roster. Of course, the Lakers are readymade contenders, while the Bulls and Nets are a lot further away.

Smith waited until the trade deadline passed to make the projections since with the exceptions of a few minor roster openings, including one held by the Nets, the financial pictures of all 30 teams are fairly well set.

The trade deadline saw a ton of massive movement, as several teams elected to go the pre-agency route. Those moves saw a lot of potential 2026 spending power evaporate around the NBA.

We’ll likely see a handful of veteran extensions that will get done before the end of the season. But, with most of the roster movement behind us for the time being, it’s time to look forward!

Specifically, Smith has this to say about Brooklyn:

The Nets are very likely to have significant cap space for a second straight summer. Some of this could go toward retaining their own free agents again (Day’Ron Sharpe and Ziaire Williams both have pending team options), but Brooklyn will have lots of room to again act as a clearing house for unwanted salaries for tax and apron teams. Just send some draft picks or young talent with those undesirable deals. The Nets also don’t have control over their own pick for the 2027 draft.. That could signal a team that is ready to spend to move the roster forward. Look for a measured approach to spending, as opposed to an all-in one.

That of course is what most pundits both national and local expect the organization to do: move from a rebuild to what might be called a build, much like they did in 2018-19 under Sean Marks when a young Nets team won 42 games and finished with the sixth seed. That progress helped convince Kevin Durant and Kyrie to sign as free agents and James Harden to later seek a trade.

Last season, the Nets virtually exhausted their cap space, sending it out in a number of salary dumps. In doing so, they secured two first round picks, the Hawks unprotected 2025 pick (which became Drake Powell) and the Nuggets unprotected 2032 pick, a net of three second rounders, as well as Michael Porter Jr.; Terance Mann; Ochai Agbaji; Josh Minott, Heywood Highsmith; Kobe Bufkin and Hunter Tyson. The latter three were later released.

In addition to $6.3 million team options on Sharpe and Williams, the Nets also hold a $2.5 million team option on Minott. Ochai Agbaji and Jalen Wilson are restricted free agents. Beyond that, Brooklyn presumably will have seven players — roughly half the roster — on rookie deals: Noah Clowney, the Flatbush Five plus whoever they take with their lottery pick.

There’s no rumors as to who the Nets might want to pursue although because of his relationship to Michael Porter Jr. and Denver’s cap crunch, there’s speculation that 6’8” forward Peyton Watson is a player Brooklyn might like.

The Spurs played a valiant game tonight without their best player, but they could not hold on in the fourth under an onslaught of points from Jamal Murray, who scored 39, and Nikola Jokic who scored 31 with 12 assists and 20 rebounds. Stephon Castle had 30, De’Aaron Fox scored 27, and Harrison Barnes had a solid 20 point game in his first game back after an extended absence. The Spurs led by as much as 20 in the first half, but without Wembanyama to anchor the defense, the dynamic duo of Jokic and Murray took over the game in the second half and the Spurs just couldn’t hold them back long enough to eke out a win. It was an important win for Denver, as they are in a close race with all of the teams between third and seventh in the Western Conference within a couple of games. The Spurs still have a solid cushion over the team in third, and will have two more shots this year to face the Nuggets in the remaining 16 games of the season. It was a great win for Denver, and the Spurs will just have to move on to the next game against the Hornets on Saturday.

Observations

• Victor was listed as questionable in the early injury reports, but his status was later updated to OUT, which is tough to take as a fan, but I’d rather see the big healthy for the playoffs than trying to play in every regular season game. I guess it’s time for a big Plumlee game.
• Remember when Carter Bryant couldn’t hit a dunk, that seems like a million years ago. He’s turned from a guy who looked lost on the court to a guy who is a key contributor in just a couple of months. It’s just so fun to watch.
• It’s good to see Harrison Barnes back in uniform. I don’t know if the Spurs are going to be able to bring him back next year, but I think he’s going to be important this year for the Spurs playoff run because of his experience. He might have more playoff experience than the rest of the team put together. I’ll look that up after the game.
• Aaron Gordon was out for Denver, and started Spencer Jones in his place. They lose a lot of offense, but Jones is a very capable defender, and tonight he was hitting his shots.
• The Spurs started out with hot shooting, but a couple of bad turnovers kept them from breaking open the game early, which turned out to be costly later as the Spurs could not build a big enough lead to hold on late in the game.
• Jokic fouled Murray on a drive to the basket, and it was called as Castle’s second personal. Since fouls from your teammates are not considered a reason to get free throws, Mitch Johnson decided to challenge the call. However, the challenge was unsuccessful, and Castle got his second foul, based on touching Murray way before the actual contact that affected his shot.
• The Spurs went on a 14-3 run in the three minutes of the first quarter and let 37-25 going into the second.
• Plumlee looked pretty good in his first extended run in a Spurs uniform. He has quick hands and is a lot more athletic than you’d think by looking at him.
• The Spurs took advantage of Jokic taking a rest early in the second and took a 20 point lead halfway through the quarter with Mason Plumlee dominating Jonas Valanciunas (never thought I’d ever type those words).
• With Jokic back in the lineup for the second part of the second quarter, the Nuggets gnawed into the lead, cutting it to single digits with less than two minutes left. The Spur went on a last minute surge to lead by 16 at the half, leading 69-53.
• The Spurs committed four early fouls in the third quarter as Jokic was distributing the ball as the Nuggets outscored the Silver and Black 11-4 out of the locker room. Mitch Johnson had to call a quick TO to regroup his squad.
• Mitch got a tech early in the third working the refs, and I don’t mind that. Steph takes a ton of contact and he needs to make sure his guys get a fair whistle. It seemed to pay off just a moment later when they called Jokic for his first foul of the night, and later on when Castle was able to get the line on drives to the basket.
• Adelman decided to follow Mitch’s lead with four minutes left in the quarter and earned his own tech. Smart move from the young coach, although he lost the challenge.
• Jamal Murray was extremely active in the third with 16 points in the quarter, but the Spurs held on, leading 106-94 after three quarters.
• Mason Plumlee took over at center to start the fourth, and made an immediate impact with an offensive rebound, while the Nuggets played small without Jokic, and got a couple of quick shots from Jones (isn’t he supposed to be a defensive specialist?) and Strawther for an 11-0 run to cut the Spurs lead to just one point, with Jokic off the court. A pair of clutch buckets from De’Aaron Fox in the paint blunted the Nuggets’ surge, and Adelman had to gather his team on the sidelines for a regroup, and they responded by continuing to go to Murray as they took over the game.
• The Nuggets took their first lead at 121-119 with 4:38 left with a Murray triple, outscoring the Spurs 27-13 to that point in the quarter. They extended the lead to 128-119 with three minutes left in the game, as the Spurs offense fell apart. But these Spurs are resilient. They fought back, and brought the game to within a bucket as Castle had an open shot to tie it up. The shot missed, and the Spurs had to foul with 12 seconds left, leading to a 136-131 Denver victory.

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The home stand finishes on Saturday afternoon with a game against the Charlotte Hornets, who have been really good since the start of the year. The Spurs will have to put up a good effort in that game, or they could get stung. The Silver and Black sometimes shows up out of sorts for these games with an early start, and the the Hornets could make them pay if they don’t wake up on time. It might be time to fire up Boris Diaw’s expresso machine in the locker room once again.