National Basketball Association
Denver 108, San Antonio 90
When: 9:30 PM ET, Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Where: Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado
Officials: #42 Eric Lewis, #24 Mike Callahan, #77 Karl Lane, #28 Kevin Scott
Attendance: 19520

Jamal Murray had 23 points and seven assists, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the San Antonio Spurs 108-90 on Thursday night in Game 5 of their Western Conference playoff series.

The Nuggets lead the series 3-2 heading into Game 6 at San Antonio on Thursday night. Game 7, if necessary, would be played Saturday in Denver.

Nikola Jokic amassed 16 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, Will Barton scored 17 points off the bench, and Gary Harris had 15 points for Denver.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and DeMar DeRozan also scored 17 for the Spurs, who lost a second game in a row.

Denver quickly turned an 11-point halftime lead into 21-point edge in the first 2:34 of the third quarter. Paul Millsap hit two free throws, Murray drained a 25-footer, Millsap hit another pair from the line and then hit a 3-pointer after the Spurs' Patty Mills hit a jumper.

After DeRozan stepped out of bounds, Murray sank a jumper to make it 65-44, and the Spurs called a timeout.

Less than five minutes later, a 3-pointer from Murray gave the Nuggets a 77-49 lead. Denver was 11 of 13 from the foul line in the third quarter after attempting just four free throws in the first half.

San Antonio went on a 12-2 run to get the deficit down to 18, but Jokic hit two 3-pointers around a jumper by the Spurs' Jakob Poeltl in the lane, and Denver took an 85-63 lead into the fourth quarter.

Denver's Malik Beasley hit a 3-pointer and Barton had two baskets for a 7-0 run to open the fourth. The Nuggets led by as many as 30.

The Nuggets got off to their best start in the series, outscoring San Antonio in the first quarter for the first time, and they built on that.

The Spurs were able to get within three in the second quarter but Harris hit a 3-pointer that kick started a 14-3 run that gave Denver a 53-38 lead with 1:52 left in the first half. The Nuggets led 53-42 at halftime.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
San Antonio   Denver
LaMarcus Aldridge 17 Scoring Jamal Murray 23
Jakob Poeltl 4 Assists Nikola Jokic 8
LaMarcus Aldridge 10 Rebounds Nikola Jokic 11
DeMar DeRozan 5 Free Throws Made Nikola Jokic 4
LaMarcus Aldridge 2 Steals Nikola Jokic 2
LaMarcus Aldridge 1 Blocks Torrey Craig 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
San Antonio 90 41.1 7-24 9-15 17 42 3 6 8
Denver 108 50.0 14-33 16-20 25 49 6 4 14
Upcoming Games
  • Denver will play their next game on the road against San Antonio. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .704 after a win and .571 after a loss.
  • San Antonio will play their next game at home against Denver. The Spurs have a W/L % of .583 after a win and .588 after a loss.