The Spurs just showed the NBA a dangerous truth about their offense

The story of this game was written in the first quarter. No matter the outcome, the Spurs were going to win or lose together. They didn't have their superstar alien to back them up against Nikola Jokic and a desperate Nuggets team, but they weren't going to let that stop them from fighting to protect home court and Stephon Castle's 30-point triple-double is just one piece of proof. of that.

They weren't successful, but it wasn't because of lack of effort. San Antonio pushed the pace and Denver played on their heels until they didn't. That's what you expect from a veteran team led by the Joker and fighting for playoff seeding. His 31 points, 20 rebounds, and 12 assists were too much to overcome when you give up 38 free throws on top of it.

"We've just got to figure out a way. In the third quarter, we put them in the bonus in the first two and half minutes. Obviously, it's tough to guard when you're doing that, but we can't give up 83 points in a half and expect to win." - De'Aaron Fox

Winning this game was always going to be a challenge without Victor Wembanyama, though. They forced their opponents to dig deep to pull this one out, and they were down their most important player. They made it that difficult because, again, they play together. That's something fans should be proud of.

Spurs do everything together and that's their superpower

In the first quarter, they shared the rock like a high-stakes game of hot potato. Stephon Castle slashed, Devin Vassell splashed, and everything De'Aaron Fox did was cash. The result was a 37-25 lead at the end of the first period.

In the next quarter, it was more of the same, but what really stood out was the defense. Mitch Johnson unleashed a small-ball lineup with Castle, Dylan Harper, Carter Bryant, Harrison Barnes, and Keldon Johnson. KJ had the honor of guarding the Joker, and he did a tremendous job. He denied him the ball on several possessions and made the 3x MVP work for difficult shots, even missing a couple of them.

The Nuggets are on the second night of a back-to-back, so you would think that they would bring the fight early and possibly wane as the night went on. The Spurs jumped on them early like rabid dogs and wouldn't let go during the first half.

Then the second half happened. San Antonio fouled too much, and made too many mistakes when the game hung in the balance. They allowed over 80 points in the final two quarters and that cost them the game. No crying over spilled milk, though. This team has won nearly every game they've played for almost a month and a half and just scored 131 without Vic. Their offense is clicking.

The Spurs are entering "well-oiled machine" territory

When you have eight players averaging double digits, it's hard to stop everybody. In fact, it's almost impossible. That's the problem the Spurs pose for their opponents, and the Nuggets felt that tonight, despite winning the game. If it wasn't Castle, it was Fox; if it wasn't Fox, it was Harrison Barnes, and so on and so forth because the Silver and Black finished the night with 34 assists on 43 field goals.

They hit small dry spells at the wrong times, but overall, they were pretty impressive. For some, that's what makes it more disappointing. They lost this game after being up more than 15 points. It's easy to understand. San Antonio needs as many wins as possible if they're going to catch OKC. I prefer the first seed, too, but it's not the end of the world if they land the second.

What matters is how well they're playing going into the postseason, and their confidence on the offensive side of the ball is as high as we've seen it. It took an all-time great player having an all-time great game and Jamal Murray shooting 15 free throws (!) to beat The Spurs. I see that as an absolute win.