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San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker look for room around Denver NuggetsÕ Gary Harris during first half action Saturday Feb. 4, 2017 at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker look for room around Denver NuggetsÕ Gary Harris during first half action Saturday Feb. 4, 2017 at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili shoots around Denver NuggetsÕ Jameer Nelson during first half action Saturday Feb. 4, 2017 at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili shoots around Denver NuggetsÕ Jameer Nelson during first half action Saturday Feb. 4, 2017 at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio Spurs’ Dewayne Dedmon grabs for a rebound between Denver NuggetsÕ Emmanuel Mudiay (from left), Wilson Chandler, and Nikola Jokic during first half action Saturday Feb. 4, 2017 at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio Spurs’ Dewayne Dedmon grabs for a rebound between Denver NuggetsÕ Emmanuel Mudiay (from left), Wilson Chandler, and Nikola Jokic during first half action Saturday Feb. 4, 2017 at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio Spurs’ David Lee looks for room around Denver NuggetsÕ Wilson Chandler during first half action Saturday Feb. 4, 2017 at the AT&T Center.
San Antonio Spurs’ David Lee looks for room around Denver NuggetsÕ Wilson Chandler during first half action Saturday Feb. 4, 2017 at the AT&T Center.
Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) falls as he jumps for the rebound against San Antonio Spurs’ Dewayne Dedmon, left, and LaMarcus Aldridge during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried (35) falls as he jumps for the rebound against San Antonio Spurs’ Dewayne Dedmon, left, and LaMarcus Aldridge during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday,
Saturday night at the AT&T Center belonged to two senior Spurs on the back end of their careers, one the team’s longest tenured, the other its oldest.
With the annual rodeo road trip kicking off in Memphis on Monday – keeping the Spurs away from the AT&T Center for the remainder of February – Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker put on a vintage clinic in a 121-97 win over the Denver Nuggets.
Ginobili drilled his first five shots and missed his last, a deep heat-check 3-pointer that had the entire bench ready to erupt had it fallen through the cylinder.
In just 10 minutes Ginobili scored a season-high 18 points and drilled four 3-pointers.
In a competitive first half that featured four lead changes, the Spurs (39-11) often looked to Ginobili for a spark. The league’s second-oldest player rarely failed to deliver.
“That’s not going to change,” Spurs coach Popovich said. “You can’t make someone that’s competitive non-competitive. You can’t extract that juice from them.”
Parker was just as impressive.
One game after failing to hit a single field goal, the Spurs’ longtime point guard literally could not miss.
Parker finished with 18 points on a perfect 8-for-8 from the field, the first time he has shot 100 percent while attempting at least eight field goals.
He has been asked less and less to do what he did tonight, but Parker has still proved capable of being this team’s lead scorer, if only for a while.
“You have to adjust,” Parker said. “It’s a different stage in your career. You try to be a good fit for the team who is around you. I try to do the best I can with the guys around me.”
Denver entered the game with the league’s fourth-highest scoring offense and kept pace with the Spurs throughout the first half.
Fatigue finally set in for the Nuggets, playing their fourth game in five nights.
The Spurs blitzed Denver in the third quarter, outscoring the visitors 35-22.
Kawhi Leonard scored 12 of his team-high 19 in that pivotal period, while reserve guard Patty Mills scored all 10 of his points on 4 of 4.
LaMarcus Aldridge returned following a one-game absence, his sore right knee looking fully rejuvenated on a couple of impressive slams. He finished with 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks in just over 27 minutes.
With Pau Gasol still recovering from hand surgery, Dewayne Dedmon received his third straight start.
Dedmon was whistled for two fouls in the game’s opening three minutes but made a thunderous returnin the second quarter, stringing together a rolling reverse jam and a two-handed alley-oop on consecutive plays.
Without leading scorer Danilo Gallinari, the Nuggets were expected to lean heavily on second-year forward Nikola Jokic, who recorded his first career triple-double one night earlier.
But foul trouble followed Jokic all night, limiting him to just 15 minutes. He finished with 11 points, two assists and one rebound.
Rookie Jamal Murray paced the Nuggets with 20 points on 8 of 12.
The victory vaulted Popovich past former Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan for most wins by a coach with one franchise.
“He’s in a different league than me,” said Popovich, who has now won 1,128 games with the Spurs.
That may be true in his mind, but in at least one respect Popovich is unmatched and will remain so for the foreseeable future.
“Growing up, Jerry Sloan was one of the big names, watching the (NBA) Finals and stuff like that,” Parker said. “To have Pop up there, he’s going to keep it going. It looks like he’s not getting tired at all. He’s not going to stop anytime soon.”
After tonight’s performances, the same could be said of Parker and Ginobili.
nmoyle@express-news.net
Twitter: @NRMoyle
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