Spurs vs. Nuggets: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season

The San Antonio Spurs let the Denver Nuggets hang around during Thursday's Western Conference showdown at the Pepsi Center, but they unleashed their dominance in the second half of a 127-99 victory.

San Antonio outscored Denver 69-46 after halftime to secure a win that moved it to 29-7 overall and a head-turning 17-3 on the road this season.

The Nuggets, who dropped to 14-22 with their fourth straight loss, couldn't keep up with the combination of LaMarcus Aldridge, Kawhi Leonard, Tony Parker and Pau Gasol.

Aldridge led all scorers with 28 points, while Leonard stuffed the stat sheet with 24 points, six rebounds and five assists. Parker just missed a double-double with 21 points and nine assists, and Gasol controlled the interior with 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks.

The Spurs' perimeter defense also helped set the tone, holding Denver to 7-of-25 shooting from three-point range.

Despite San Antonio's strong effort on that end of the floor, Nikola Jokic tallied 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists behind 8-of-10 shooting from the field. Danilo Gallinari chipped in with 15 points, and Darrell Arthur added 13.

While San Antonio ultimately settled in, it was a defense-optional first quarter, and neither team built much of an advantage in the opening 12 minutes. Denver took a 33-29 lead into the second behind 11 points from Jokic and eight from Arthur.

The Spurs countered with nine points from Parker and eight from Aldridge but struggled on the defensive side of the ball against the red-hot Nuggets. That didn't stop Aldridge from putting Jokic on a poster, however, as NBA on ESPN shared:

Things turned for San Antonio early in the second quarter. It allowed just nine points in the first six minutes of the second and took a 44-43 lead when Gasol converted an and-1.

Denver cut its deficit to 48-47 with a Gallinari three, but the Spurs responded with a 10-4 spurt that included threes from Aldridge and Leonard. San Antonio eventually took a 58-53 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

While Aldridge had 15 points and Parker had 13, Mike Monroe of the Rivard Report noted the Spurs' defensive turnaround proved to be the difference in the first half:

The Spurs exerted control on both ends of the floor early in the third quarter. They opened the second half on a 10-2 run to extend the lead to 68-55, and Parker was busy making Denver's defense look helpless in the open floor, as the team shared:

Leonard also pushed his scoring total to double figures during the spurt.

"Leonard has now scored double figures in 68 games straight - the longest streak by any Spur since Tim Duncan's 75 straight in 2004-05," Jordan Howenstine of the team's public relations department tweeted.

San Antonio continued to dominate in the third quarter, turning a 68-58 advantage into an overwhelming 83-65 lead with a 15-7 run. Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News noted Parker and Aldridge were "basically taking turns eviscerating Denver."

The Spurs finished their excellent third quarter with a 90-77 lead after outscoring Denver 32-24. To the Nuggets' credit, they closed the frame on a 5-0 run to stay within striking distance heading into the final 12 minutes.

The visitors quickly ended any doubt about the outcome with a 6-0 burst to open the fourth with a three from Manu Ginobili and a mid-range jumper and free throw from Leonard. Any time the Nuggets appeared to be set to challenge San Antonio, the Spurs had an answer and kept the challengers at bay.

The Spurs put things on cruise control from there and pushed their lead to 108-86 with a free throw from Gasol after Jusuf Nurkic had trimmed the deficit to 14. The outcome was never truly in doubt during the fourth quarter as San Antonio closed out another win on the road with relative ease.

Postgame Reaction

Nuggets head coach Michael Malone discussed the loss, per Christopher Dempsey of the Denver Post: "As the game wore on, our defense started to cave amongst all their talent and all of their pressure."

Denver guard Gary Harris talked about the Spurs, per Dempsey: "That's a good team right there. They do a good job moving the ball, and they came out and were making a lot of shots."

On the other side, Parker said the Spurs were prepared, per Nick Moyle of the San Antonio Express-News: "We did a film session, and we haven't done a film session for a long time. He wanted us to be sharper, and that's what we did against Toronto and that carried over tonight."

The guard also said, "I feel great physically," per Moyle. "I'm in a good rhythm, shooting the ball well."

What's Next?

On Saturday, the Spurs will start a three-game home stand that features contests against the Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers. They'll have a chance to make up some ground in the pursuit of the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference.

The Nuggets will hit the road to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday before two home games against the Indiana Pacers and Orlando Magic. While Denver is struggling this season, it was only one game out of the No. 8 seed entering play Thursday and will look to snap out of its recent slide.