DeMar DeRozan, Derrick White Guide Spurs Past Nuggets to Take 2-1 Series Lead

Derrick White scored 26 of his game-high 36 points in the first half as the No. 7 seed San Antonio Spurs beat the No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets 118-108 in Game 3 of their NBA Western Conference first-round playoff series.

White made 15 of 21 field goals and posted five rebounds, five assists and three steals.

DeMar DeRozan added 25 points, five dimes and three steals for San Antonio. LaMarcus Aldridge provided 18 points, 11 boards and five assists, and Rudy Gay notched an 11-point, 11-rebound double-double off the bench.

Nikola Jokic contributed 22 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Nuggets, who trail the Spurs 2-1 in their best-of-seven series.

Malik Beasley scored 20 points, knocked down five three-pointers and grabbed nine rebounds off the bench.

Derrick White Is the Spurs' Next Hidden Gem

The Spurs haven't found themselves in good draft position due to their year-to-year success over two-plus decades, but they've still found a way to make the playoffs from 1998 to 2019.

The Spurs' unique ability to find talent in the middle and back ends of the draft is unparalleled.

Of note, Manu Ginobili was the 57th pick in 1999, and Tony Parker was taken 28th in 2001. All that duo did was help guide the Spurs to four NBA titles.

White has a long way to go before earning a legendary status with the franchise like those two, but he's off to a good start if this postseason is any indication.

Even Ginobili is impressed:

White has averaged 23 points on 69 percent shooting in three games. The Nuggets simply haven't found an answer for the second-year pro, who is dominating with a breakneck pace.

That was clearly evident during his 26-point first half.

Of note, he seemed a touch faster and more aware than anyone on the court when he read a Nuggets pass, stole the ball and coasted for a layup:

He also encountered little issue during his fearless drives into the paint:

Keith Smith of Celtics Blog and Yahoo Sports noted how well White was playing relative to other guards in this series:

Jeff McDonald of San Antonio Express-News put White's name in the same tweet as two-time All-NBA first team member Kawhi Leonard, and who can blame him after Thursday?

Pounding the Rock, SB Nation's Spurs blog, couldn't help but mash the caps-lock button to announce White's career-high scoring mark, achieved in one half:

The caps lock was a theme, as Spurs fan and New York Times bestselling author Shea Serrano noted:

Finally, Spurs Basketball Communications Coordinator Jordan Howenstine explained the significance of White's first half relative to past Spurs:

White didn't score in the third quarter, but his ability to quickly change a game occurred in the fourth.

Over a 4:38 span, he scored 10 points, helping the Spurs go on an 18-5 run and put the game away.

White wasn't even supposed to start this year. Dejounte Murray, who ESPN.com ranked No. 1 in defensive plus-minus among all qualified point guards in 2017-18, was supposed to take that honor.

However, Murray suffered a torn ACL in a preseason game before the 2018-19 season started, which thrust White into a much larger role.

White didn't have much experience before assuming a greater rotation fixture. He rode the pine in 2017-18, only playing 17 games and averaging 8.2 minutes when he did find the court.

White didn't light it up this season either with 9.9 points, 3.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds per game. Like Murray, however, he's a defensive superstar, as evidenced by his second-place ranking in defensive real plus-minus among qualified point guards.

The ex-Colorado star hasn't wasted much time making a seismic leap forward in the playoffs, though, and it's a remarkable feat considering the 24-year-old took the junior-college route before making the NBA.

After one season at Colorado in which he averaged a team-high 18.1 points, the Spurs took him 29th overall—a fact that is still bewildering to some, including Sam Vecenie of The Athletic:

At this point, White could be one of those players people scratch their heads over and wonder how he fell so far. As for now, White has clearly been the best guard (and perhaps the best overall player) during the first three games of this series.

Nuggets Must Shake Up Starting 5, Replace Barton with Beasley

Will Barton is averaging 7.3 points on 27.8 percent shooting in the playoffs, and Beasley is posting 12.7 points on 52.2 percent shooting.

Barton had 11.0 points on 40.2 percent shooting with an 11.0 player efficiency rating during the regular season. Beasley's numbers: 11.3 points, 47.4 percent shooting, 14.2 PER.

Barton is starting over Beasley, but a change is needed now that the Nuggets' backs are against the wall.

In fairness to Barton, he's suffered numerous injuries and missed 39 games. But he's not the same player who averaged career highs with 15.7 points, 45.2 percent shooting and a 37.0 three-point percentage last season. His field-goal percentage and PER figures were his lowest since his rookie year in 2012-13.

On the flip side, Beasley was fantastic Thursday, notably keeping Denver in the game early in the fourth quarter thanks in part to this three-pointer:

The third-year veteran later hit a layup to cut the Spurs lead to 93-89, and he finished with a plus-13.

Beasley posted 15.9 points per game in 18 starts this season, so he's proved he can be productive with the first unit if given the chance.

Paul Klee of the Gazette noted how Beasley always seems prominently involved in all comebacks:

And the Denver Post predicted a lucrative financial future:

Multiple analysts also noted how Beasley should be getting more minutes than Barton, including Nick Kosmider of The Athletic:

That may be the case, especially after Beasley had 27 points to Barton's 20 on Thursday. Head coach Mike Malone also hinted at a minutes shift, although it didn't seem like a starting-five change was in the cards based on his postgame press conference:

Ultimately, Beasley deserves the starting call in Game 4, especially considering that Denver has lost home-court advantage and needs to steal one in San Antonio.

What's Next?

San Antonio will host Denver for Game 4 on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET.