Wemby and Jokic Duel, Nuggets Beat Spurs in OT Thriller

Victor Wembanyama and Nikola Jokic dueled in a classic to remember, and the Nuggets came back to beat the Spurs in overtime 136-134.

Wemby finished with 34 points, 18 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 blocks, while Jokic notched 40 points, 13 assists, and 8 rebounds in one of the best battles of this NBA regular season. San Antonio played well for much of the game, but once again Denver was able to lean on their experience late to come back.

Stephon Castle added 20 points and 9 assists for San Antonio. The Spurs won the paint battle 54-42, but the sharp-shooting Nuggets hit 41% from deep. This is just the third loss for the Spurs since the start of February, ending an 11-game winning streak and dealing a significant blow to San Antonio's hopes of securing the top seed in the West.

The game had a playoff atmosphere and lived up to the billing of a battle between two top teams featuring the best offensive center against the best defensive center. Jokic and Wembanyama channeled each other over the course of the game. Jokic locked in defensively as the Nuggets amped it up on that end, and Wemby dropped dimes to his teammates.

The game showed a fascinating chess match between these coaching staffs, who had to adjust to each other and to the foul trouble brought on by the tight whistle from the officials. Castle and Wembanyama both picked up two early fouls, forcing San Antonio to switch up the defensive assignments. Castle switched off of Jamal Murray for a while, and the Spurs threw some smaller wings like Keldon Johnson at Jokic. Both teams experimented with zone defenses for a bit.

Even with the foul trouble, Wembanyama did a good job of guarding both Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas in the post while avoiding the whistle.

The Spurs led for most of the game and built their advantage to as much as 13, but the Nuggets are a team that always has a scoring run to answer. They cut their deficit down to just one in the late stages of the third quarter.

To start the fourth, Wembanyama made his mark. He stuffed Valanciunas on a post hook, got to the line, then slammed home a lob from Castle to put San Antonio up by nine.

AREA 51...AGAIN ‼️

📺 @FanDuelSN_SW, @NBAonPrime pic.twitter.com/giR33XJoDd
— San Antonio Spurs - x (@spurs) April 4, 2026

Wemby got Murray switched onto him and followed a tough layup with a power dunk over the little guy, giving him eight straight for San Antonio.

OPEN UP THE PIT!!! pic.twitter.com/BRns4JsqAT
— Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) April 4, 2026

Jokic came back into the game and immediately spurred an 8-0 run that he capped with a triple off a dish from Murray. Wembanyama ended that run by attacking Murray again, getting back to the stripe for more free throws.

Jokic tried to back Wemby down and threw up a hook shot without jumping, but missed badly. On the other end Castle saved a possession twice, poking free a loose ball and then putting back a miss.

Stephon Castle is so relentless!! pic.twitter.com/LYb720m7Xc
— Silver & Black Coffee Hour (@SlvrBlkCoffeeHr) April 4, 2026

The Nuggets kept clawing back behind Jokic and Murray, and the Spurs used Wemby and Castle to guard that pick and roll down the stretch, but even with the best defenders on the planet it's tough to do. Murray set a screen for Jokic, who drove and dished to Murray for 3 to give Denver their first lead since the first quarter.

Wembanyama's defense bothered Jokic in the paint and forced multiple misses at the rim. Murray fouled Devin Vassell on a 3-point attempt, and he swished all three to put the Spurs back in front. Vassell drove for a finger roll to extend the lead to four, and Jokic missed a 3 over the fingertips of Wembanyama. Wemby got hammered in the paint and got more free throws.

Jokic dished to Cameron Johnson at the arc, and he hit the triple through a foul by Fox to cut Denver's deficit to a deuce. Wembanyama missed a fading jumper, but then played tremendous defense at the rim before running the break and lobbing it to Vassell for a loud dunk.

Jokic answered with free throws, and Aaron Gordon spearheaded another excellent defensive possession for the Nuggets to force De'Aaron Fox into a difficult jump shot.

The Nuggets had the inbound down two with 8.1 seconds to play. Wembanyama and Julian Champagnie gor their signals crossed on a screen and both went to Jokic, leaving Aaron Gordon wide open for a cutting dunk. The only problem for Denver was that they left 6.2 seconds for San Antonio.

Gordon guarded Wembanyama, who drove left and threw up a leaning baseline jumper that rimmed out to extend one of the best games of the regular season into overtime.

Jokic opened the extra period with a mid-range jumper over Wemby, and Champagnie answered with a corner 3. Aaron Gordon finished a crazy lob as the game see-sawed back and forth. Cam Johnson hit a straight-away 3 to give Denver their biggest lead of the game at four points. San Antonio generated some good shots, but couldn't get them to fall.

De'Aaron Fox went iso on Murray and cashed a jumper from the free throw line. Jokic came down the other end, posted up Wembanyama, and spun back ward for a high-arcing jumper that found the bottom. Wemby came down the other end and laid it up and in.

The Spurs forced a turnover and got a great look in transition, but Vassell couldn't handle the lob from Fox. Fox got the board and had an open shot in close to tie, but he missed it. Denver ran some clock and Jokic scored inside to make it a two-possession game, and that about did it.

This was the first game Wembanyama played against the Nuggets this season, and it was the first game Aaron Gordon played against the Spurs. Both of them play fantastic defense, but neither prevented this from being another shootout between these teams. In all three matchups, both teams have scored over 130 points.

Denver will visit San Antonio for the final game of the regular season. The Spurs still technically have a chance at the one seed out West, but they will need more help from OKC. If San Antonio wins out, they'd need the Thunder to lose three of their remaining five games.

Though the loss and the missed opportunity will sting, that might not be a bad thing with the playoffs approaching. The coaching staff will have plenty of tape to go over with the team, and that will be valuable for this young team especially if they face these Nuggets in a seven-game series.

"My conclusion of this game is that it was good for us," Wembanyama said after the game. "It’s a real test against a team that’s actually playing for something right now.”