Victor Wembanyama's Near Quadruple-Double Not Enough as San Antonio Spurs Fall to Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic both put on a show Tuesday, but the San Antonio Spurs fell to the Denver Nuggets in a thriller.

Apr 2, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Spurs vs. Nuggets / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

San Antonio Spurs rookie star Victor Wembanyama nearly had the NBA's first quadruple-double since franchise legend David Robinson did it in 1994 on Tuesday, but Michael Porter Jr. hit a tie-breaking triple with 27.1 seconds to play and the Denver Nuggets escaped with a 110-105 win at Ball Arena on Tuesday behind 41 points from Nikola Jokic.

Wembanyama finished with 23 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and nine blocks on 9 of 29 shooting. The Spurs (18-58) rallied from 11 down with 7:38 to play in the fourth quarter to take the lead with a 12-0 run, but the Nuggets stayed steady and closed out the game. Wemby hit the game-tying layup with 1:02 left and had a chance to give San Antonio the lead less than 30 seconds later, but his miss led to Porter's go-ahead 3 in transition.

The Spurs dropped their third contest of the four-game season series with Denver (53-23), which will conclude in San Antonio on April 12.

Apr 2, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1). / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Spurs second-year guard Malaki Branham scored a season-high 24 points and helped the Spurs rally headed into halftime after scoring 11 straight at one point toward the end of the second quarter to give the Spurs a 41-37 lead.

Tre Jones finished with a triple-double (10 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists) whille Spurs forward Zach Collins had 13 off the bench. All five Spurs starters reached double figures, including Cedi Osman (10 points), who exited with an ankle injury in the first half.

Along with his 42 points, Jokic added 16 rebounds and six assists for the Nuggets, who were without Jamal Murray due to injury. Porter Jr. had 15 points and 16 rebounds while Aaron Gordin added 23 points and seven boards.

After Branham's scoring burst in the second quarter, Osman hit a triple to give San Antonio a 46-39 edge a possession later after the Spurs had trailed by as many as 10. Denver had a run if its own though and took a 55-54 lead into halftime. 

Despite shooting 6 of 17 from the floor, it was another ho-hum first half for Wemby, who had 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four blocks headed into the locker room. Branham led the Spurs with 16 points while Jokic had a game-high 19 points at the half. 

After trailing by 11, Mamu took over and gave the Spurs the lead behind a 12-0 run behind a triple and dunk in transition. But despite Wemby and Co's late-game comeback, the defending champions are exactly that for a reason.

The Spurs will visit the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday.