Jokić’s 40-point masterpiece steals one from Wembanyama in OT

Nikola Jokić turns a tight, high-level shootout into his own late-game showcase, and Denver sneaks past San Antonio 136-134 in overtime after a game that never really stopped cracking. For 48 minutes, the Nuggets and Spurs trade punches, answer runs, and lean on their stars in a playoff-style test that feels bigger than April 4 on the calendar. Jokić finishes with 40 points, 8 rebounds and 13 assists, and the final sequence belongs to him: a turnaround fadeaway to push Denver ahead, then a soft 6-foot floating jumper with 9.8 seconds left to create just enough breathing room before Devin Harper’s desperation banked three at the horn falls short of forcing another extra frame.

San Antonio sets the tone early, getting into the paint and making Denver chase. The Spurs build their biggest lead of the night at 13, and their first-half offense keeps stacking clean looks behind Victor Wembanyama’s all-around control. Wembanyama doesn’t just score; he orchestrates. He drops in a reverse layup while also setting up Harrison Barnes for one of the game’s cleanest finish-at-the-rim plays, a reverse layup off Wemby’s third assist that pushes the Spurs’ second-quarter surge. By halftime, San Antonio has 72, Denver 65, and the visitors look comfortable enough to keep the pressure on well into the third.

But Denver never lets the game drift too far away. The first real warning shot comes late in the opening quarter when a 9-0 home run trims a double-digit deficit, capped by Julian Strawther’s running 26-foot three with Jokić creating the offense from the top. That’s the shape of Denver’s night: the big man bending defenses, finding cutters, and keeping the engine humming until the stars can take over. In the second quarter, another Denver burst — 10 straight points — features Jokić powering in a hook to cut into the gap, and even when San Antonio answers with its own 9-0 stretch, the Nuggets stay within striking distance. The Spurs are efficient, but Denver’s offensive math never breaks completely.

The third quarter feels like a slow burn, then the fourth explodes. San Antonio stretches it to 107-96, and Denver looks like it may have run out of room. Instead, Jokić drags the Nuggets back possession by possession. A 9-0 Denver run starts with his 25-footer from deep, the kind of shot that changes the tone of a building because it tells the defense there is nowhere to hide. Suddenly the deficit shrinks, the crowd wakes up, and every Spurs mistake becomes louder. The turning point comes with six-tenths of a second left in regulation: Jokić threads a pass and Aaron Gordon cuts hard for a dunk to tie it 124-124. Denver has stolen the game’s momentum in one violent, perfectly timed finish at the rim.

Overtime belongs to the stars. Jokić opens the extra period with a 16-foot jumper, then San Antonio answers through Julian Champagnie’s corner three and Barnes’ and Wembanyama’s big-time finishes. Christian Braun chips in a running dunk, then Cam Johnson drills a 25-foot three to put Denver back on top. Still, the Spurs keep coming. De’Aaron Fox hits a 16-foot step-back, Wembanyama glides in for a finger roll at 50.6 seconds, and the game remains one possession from chaos. Then Jokić does what only Jokić seems capable of doing in these moments: with the clock bleeding under 10 seconds, he floats in a 6-foot jumper for his 39th and 40th points, forcing San Antonio into a final, frantic heave.

That heave comes from Harper, and it almost wrecks the night for Denver. His 35-foot pull-up bank at the horn cuts it to two, but the Nuggets survive. It’s a huge win in the context of the season, the kind that matters for seeding, confidence, and the reminder that Denver still has the best late-game problem-solver on the floor whenever Jokić is in rhythm. San Antonio leaves with a loss, but not a moral defeat: Wembanyama posts 34 points, 18 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 blocks in a monster two-way effort, and the Spurs show they can go shot-for-shot with one of the league’s most experienced contenders. If these teams see each other again, it won’t be forgotten quickly.