Spurs Grades vs Nuggets – Parker Shines

The San Antonio Spurs (9-2) took care of the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday Night behind the play of Tony Parker. Parker dominated the game in all-aspects. The 14-year veteran scored a season-high 25 points in the Spurs 109-98 win, which marked their sixth-straight.

Parker whom was matched up against Emmanuel Mudiay did not have the same output as Parker. He expressed to NBA.Com that Parker still has it.

“He’s still got it,” Denver rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay said. “He is one of the elite guards. Veteran guard, smart guard. He had one of his best games coming in.”

Nov 18, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs point guard Patty Mills (8) shoots the ball against the Denver Nuggets during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Definitely a game that the Spurs fans were waiting to see from the star point guard. He did get a lot of help from the rest of the supporting group. Tim Duncan had himself a game. The future Hall of Famer had 12 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and six blocks.

What seems to be the norm for Kawhi Leonard, he finished with 20 points to go along with his eight rebounds. Leonard had the task of shutting down the Nuggets Danilo Gallinari, he did just that holding him to just five points on the night.

What drives this team is the play of Parker. Once he gets it going, everything follows into place as Leonard stated.

“He got it going tonight,” Leonard said. “Once he gets it going, he makes the game easier for all of us. All we’re doing is catching and shooting. That is the easiest shot of the game.”

You can’t talk about the Spurs without mentioning the spark plug, Patty Mills. Mills came on in the first quarter and got it going early. Mills helped this team shoot 48-percent from the floor. The team was hot beyond the arc shooting 50-percent. Mills drilled three of his six attempts.

One player that was unable to get into the hot shooting was Manu Ginobili. Ginobili as stated by the team will miss the next two games for the Spurs with hip tightness. During pre-game, Head Coach Gregg Popovich stated the injury is nothing serious.

Spurs are on a roll as they have reached nine wins on the season with just two losses.

A+. 25 points, 9 assists — He’s back. Tony Parker played his best game of the season notching a season-high with 25 points. Parker looked like his old self against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday Night. He controlled the pace of the game and picked his spots. Though he had three turnovers in the game, Parker’s nine assists overshadows them. Parker was aggressive in getting into the paint. As he has done in his career, taking a beating in the paint, Parker went back to his vintage self and from the start, set the pace for the game. Defensively you could not of asked for anything more. He was faced against a much younger play in Emmanuel Mudiay. He held Mudiay to just five points on 2-of-12 shooting from the floor.. PG. San Antonio Spurs. TONY PARKER

DANNY GREEN. B-. 8 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists — He is not doing much on the scoring end but what he is doing in other areas is the reason I can’t give Danny Green a lower grade. We know he is not off to the best shooting of his career, but, the little things he is doing, is working.. SG. San Antonio Spurs

A+. 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists — “Mr. Stat Stuffer” had himself another day at the office. I am not going to talk about the offense end from Leonard but what he has done defensively. Coming into the game, Leonard has shut down and made life miserable for opposing players he is up against. His next victim was Danio Gallinari. Against the New Orleans Pelicans, Gallinari scored 32 points. Against Leonard, five. Leonard was right in his pocket overtime the Nuggets passed it to him. When he drove into the basket, he was met by Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge whom altered his shot. An outstanding performance from Leonard. This is very much expected now right?. SF. San Antonio Spurs. KAWHI LEONARD

San Antonio Spurs. LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE. A. 11 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks — Very productive game from Aldridge. Not looking for him to score 2o-plus, Aldridge defense and aggressiveness is what the Spurs needed in the teams sixth straight win.. PF

Nov 18, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; San Antonio Spurs power forward Tim Duncan (21) grabs a rebound as Denver Nuggets point guard Emmanuel Mudiay (0) defends during the first half at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

C. San Antonio Spurs. TIM DUNCAN. A+. 12 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 blocks — Duncan was all over the floor Wednesday night. He looked fresh. He along with Aldridge made it hard for the Nuggets bigs to get anything going down in the paint. I would have to say this is Duncan’s best game of the season thus far. He just did everything right.

A+. 17 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists — Someone get a fire extinguisher because Mills was on fire. Okay, sorry for that. I couldn’t resist. Mills as he does came off of the bench and gave a huge boost Wednesday night. Mills with his energy on the offensive and defensive side was a big lift for the Spurs. It seemed every time that Mills shot the ball it was going to hit nothing but the bottom of the net. He was 7-of-15 from the floor, 3-of-6 from three-point range. What makes Mills such a great player is his basketball IQ. He does not force any shots, he stays within the offense and looks to get others involved.. G. San Antonio Spurs. PATTY MILLS

San Antonio Spurs. DAVID WEST. B+. 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists — The bruiser chipped in nine points and had three rebounds. What I love about West being on this Spurs team is that he, like others, knows his role. He was a starter in Indiana while playing with the Pacers and knows that this is such a unique situation for him. He comes into the game and plays hard. Putting his body on the Nuggets guards and big men took them out of their game.. C

C+. 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist — Just one of those games for Diaw. He did not shoot the ball well just hit one bucket. Again, it is the little things that he does that makes him so effective. He is a tremendous passer and always looks to pass first.. C. San Antonio Spurs. BORIS DIAW

G. San Antonio Spurs. RASUAL BUTLER. B+. 3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks — I really like Butler. He is that player that does everything right, very smart. He fits in well with this team and showed that against the Nuggets. He had just three points on the night, this coming off of a three-pointer as he received a pass from Mills. He is a solid defender with his length. His most productive game as a Spur by far.

Next: Parker Leads Spurs in 109-98 Win Over Nuggets