Mar 26, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) after the game against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

How Spurs Win Over Nuggets Directly Affects LeBron James, Lakers

Originally posted on San Antonio Spurs on SI
By Matt Guzman | Last updated Apr 3, 2025 12:02 AM ET

SAN ANTONIO — The injury-stained San Antonio Spurs weren't the only ones with something to celebrate Wednesday night.

After downing the Denver Nuggets on the road, 113-106, San Antonio secured the bounce-back win it was looking for on Night 2 of its back-to-back series. The only catch? Both sides of the court featured significantly fewer players.

Leading up to the contest, the Spurs were already going to be down their two stars in Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox. Charles Bassey was grouped in with them as he continues to manage the acute-on-chronic bone bruise in his left knee. But Jeremy Sochan, Devin Vassell and Keldon Johnson, too?

That wasn't initially in the cards.

Sorry to anyone who has tickets in Denver tonight. Here is the list of key players out for the #Spurs and #Nuggets:

SAS
-Victor Wembanyama
-De’Aaron Fox
-Jeremy Sochan
-Devin Vassell

DEN
- Nikola Jokić
- Jamal Murray
- Christian Braun
- Aaron Gordon
- Michael Porter Jr.
— Matt Guzman (@mattgzman) April 2, 2025

Denver was also short its stars, as all five of its starters were rested by Michael Malone — each of them listed for various reasons on the team's injury report.

Once the 48 minutes were up, San Antonio didn't move up the ladder in the Western Conference, but it did shake things up, particularly for LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers.

The Nuggets, playing without their starters and Peyton Watson, lose 113-106 at home to the Spurs to drop to 47-30 and the No. 4 seed. The Lakers (46-29) jump up to No. 3. If the Lakers win out — or drop another game but still win the Pacific division — they’ll be ahead of Denver.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 3, 2025

With the loss, Denver fell just below the Lakers in the West standings with a 47-30 record. It remains the same amount of games behind the No. 2-seeded Houston Rockets along with the Lakers, but the tiebreaker falls in favor of the latter.

The result was Los Angeles taking sole possession of the No. 3 seed with only seven games remaining in the regular season. If it wins out or still tops the Pacific Division, that's how it will stay.

Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

If one thing is certain, the Spurs are certainly enjoying their by-committee victory over Denver. They also might be laughing, especially if they end up re-seeding the Nuggets for the second straight season.

This article first appeared on San Antonio Spurs on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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