Overview
- Victor Wembanyama was a late scratch against Denver with right-ankle soreness after testing the injury in warmups, ending a career-long run of 30 consecutive games played.
- San Antonio has listed Wembanyama as questionable for Saturday’s game against Charlotte, with coach Mitch Johnson calling his status a wait-and-see decision after saying he was close to playing Thursday.
- Without their defensive anchor, the Spurs blew a 20-point lead in a 136–131 loss to the Nuggets, with Nikola Jokić posting 31 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists and Jamal Murray scoring 39.
- The Spurs are 10–5 in games Wembanyama has missed and have been experimenting with small-ball looks, including minutes at center for forwards Carter Bryant and Keldon Johnson alongside spot runs for traditional bigs.
- Team planning factors in the NBA’s 65-game minimum for awards, with Thursday marking Wembanyama’s 15th missed game and leaving him little margin to sit over the stretch run.