The Denver Nuggets are moving on in the 2019 NBA Playoffs. Denver defended its home court in its Game 7 against the San Antonio Spurs, knocking off Gregg Popovich and company in a 90-86 slugfest. Now, the Nuggets, which had not won a postseason series since 2009, will move on to take on Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers in the Western Conference Semifinals.
As is oftentimes the case when Denver wins this season, the two-headed monster of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray did most of the heavy lifting. Jokic was masterful, recording a 21-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double, while Murray dropped a game-high 23 points. The pair also were prominently involved in the weirdest moment of the playoffs.
With the Spurs down five in the fourth quarter, DeMar DeRozan split a pair of free throws. The Nuggets inbounded the ball — it was a four point game, it’s important to stress this — with 25 seconds left. Again, it was a four point game, and despite this, Jokic and Murray just passed back and forth a few times while the Spurs just … didn’t foul.
zwesdreyxturfc gtvhybujnik Spurs pic.twitter.com/UZY6cTRwSp
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) April 28, 2019
Watch that again and pay attention to Popovich, who made his way on the court while appearing to scream for someone to foul, all to no avail. After the game, he laid out what happened as simply as possible.
Pop on the non-foul: "well obviously he didn't hear it cause he didn't foul" pic.twitter.com/0yNuKmQWEb
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) April 28, 2019
It was nothing short of bizarre, especially given the stakes of a win-or-go-home game of this magnitude. It’s also a bit of a shame that this will be the moment people remember from the game, especially because Rudy Gay turned back the clock by going for 21 points and eight assists, but at the end of the day, all that matters is that Denver will move on.
