San Antonio Spurs (24-25, ninth in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (33-18, fourth in the Western Conference)
Denver; Friday, 9 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Denver will try to keep its five-game home win streak intact when the Nuggets play San Antonio.
The Nuggets are 17-11 against Western Conference opponents. Denver ranks fifth in the Western Conference with 49.3 points per game in the paint led by Nikola Jokic averaging 14.5.
The Spurs are 13-18 against Western Conference opponents. San Antonio ranks seventh in the Western Conference scoring 46.7 points per game in the paint led by DeMar DeRozan averaging 8.9.
The teams meet for the second game in a row.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jokic is scoring 26.3 points per game and averaging 10.9 rebounds for the Nuggets. Jokic is averaging 9.4 rebounds and 23.4 points per game over the last 10 games for Denver.
DeRozan leads the Spurs averaging 7.0 assists while scoring 20.9 points per game. Jakob Poeltl is averaging 9.2 rebounds and 11.3 points per game over the last 10 games for San Antonio.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 8-2, averaging 113.2 points, 46 rebounds, 28.3 assists, 7.8 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 49.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107 points on 46.8% shooting.
Spurs: 2-8, averaging 109.7 points, 42.5 rebounds, 22.4 assists, 6.7 steals and 5.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.8 points on 47.9% shooting.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Jamal Murray: out (knee), Paul Millsap: out (rest).
Spurs: Lonnie Walker IV: out (wrist), Keita Bates-Diop: out (hamstring), Trey Lyles: out (ankle).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
