The San Antonio Spurs defeated the host Denver Nuggets, 127 - 99, at Pepsi Center on Thursday. The Spurs were expected to win this game according to recent results and they left very little doubt who the better team is. The second and third quarters is when they took control, as San Antonio outscored Denver, 61 - 44 in that 24 - minute stretch. Shooting was the clear difference, with the Spurs shooting 56 percent from the field and 50 percent from three - point range, while the Nuggets hit just 45 percent from the field and 28 percent from three - point range. San Antonio also dominated the assist - to - turnover ratio, recording nine more assists than Denver, while committing six less turnovers. The Spurs (29 - 7) had a tough task in altitude here, but they made it look easy in a blowout win. LaMarcus Aldridge led San Antonio in scoring, as he dropped 28 points on 11 - of - 18 from the field. Kawhi Leonard was second on the team, collecting 24 points, six rebounds and five assists. Tony Parker tallied 21 points, three rebounds and nine assists on 10 - of - 11 shooting. Pau Gasol totaled 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Manu Ginobili came off the bench to provide 11 points, three rebounds and three assists. On deck for the Spurs is a home matchup against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday. The Nuggets (14 - 22) were recently called out for their poor defense and a 127 - point outing allowed here wo n't quiet those notions. Nikola Jokic was easily Denver's best player, as he led the team with 19 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Danilo Gallinari went just 5 - of - 13 from the field, but finished second on the team with 15 points. Wilson Chandler led the bench in scoring, amassing 11 points and seven rebounds. The Nuggets will look to get out of this slide on Saturday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
["TeamStat(G,'Nuggets') has 28 Percentage of 3 points ,has 45 Percentage of field goals ,has 22 Losses ,has 99 Total points ,has 14 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Spurs') has 50 Percentage of 3 points ,has 7 Percentage of field goals ,has 127 Losses ,has 29 Total points ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Kawhi Leonard') has 5 Assists ,has 24 Field goals attempted ,has 6 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'LaMarcus Aldridge') has 18 Assists ,has 11 Field goals attempted ,has 28 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Pau Gasol') has 4 Assists ,has 17 Field goals attempted ,has 9 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Tony Parker') has 9 Assists ,has 11 Field goals attempted ,has 10 Field goals made ,has 21 Points ,has 3 Total rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Manu Ginobili') has 3 Assists ,has 11 Field goals attempted ,has 3 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Danilo Gallinari') has 13 Assists ,has 5 Field goals attempted ,has 15 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Nikola Jokic') has 5 Assists ,has 19 Field goals attempted ,has 11 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Wilson Chandler') has 11 Assists ,has 7 Field goals attempted ."]