Vassell Drops Season-High 35 As Spurs Overcome 18-Point Deficit
The Silver and Black (13-6) have advanced to the elimination round of the Emirates NBA Cup following Friday’s 139-136 win over the Nuggets (14-6) in the Mile High city.
The Spurs won Group C which included Denver, Houston, Portland, and Golden State. They will face the Lakers who won Group B on December 10th in LA.
Devin Vassell scored a season-high 35 points on 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range in Friday’s win. Julian Champagnie added a season high 25 points to help the Spurs overcome an 18-point third-quarter deficit and hand the Nuggets, winners of six straight on the road, their third consecutive defeat at home.
The Spurs made 30 of 32 free throws and scored 30 points off 17 Nuggets turnovers to defeat the Nuggets.
The team is still without its young superstars V-Dub (strained calf) and Stephon Castle (hip). Both De’Aaron Fox and rookie Dylan Harper are back from injury to lessen the impact of V-Dub’s and Castle’s absence. Fox is averaging 24 points on the season while Harper gives the Silver and Black an additional 13 points per contest. the team is 5-2 on the season without Wembanyama.
In V-Dubs absence the Spurs have managed to stay a top 10 team defensively. They’re allowing opponents only 114 points per game on 45% shooting from the field. They rank seventh and ninth respectively in those categories.
Upcoming Games:
Wed, Dec 3 @ (5)Orlando (13-8)
6 p.m.
Fri, Dec 5 @ (6)Cleveland (13-9)
6:30 p.m.
Mon, Dec 8 @ (16)New Orleans (3-18)
7 p.m.
