LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan helped San Antonio overcome a huge effort by Nikola Jokic and force a Game 7 against Denver.

Nikola scored 27 of his 43 points in the second half to post the third highest point total this postseason behind the 50 by Portland’s Damian Lillard and 45 from Golden State’s Kevin Durant. Jokic also finished with 12 rebounds and nine assists to fall an assist shy of his second triple double of the series.

„I don’t know, it’s my first Game 7,“ Jokic said when asked what he expected in the finale. „It’s probably going to be even tougher than this one.“

The young Nuggets have to ponder that after a strong effort wasn’t enough in Game 6.

Denver dominated the paint, outscoring San Antonio 72 to 36, but the Nuggets were 8 for 31 outside the paint. The Spurs were 4 for 9 on 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help overcome Jokic’s output.

The Spurs needed the win to continue the series after a listless performance in a 108-90 loss in Denver on Tuesday in which the Nuggets led by as many as 30 points.

San Antonio surged to a 34-24 lead by shooting 67 percent from the field in the first quarter while Denver missed all seven of its 3-point attempts.

Jokic kept the Nuggets in the game in the third quarter, scoring 17 points on 8-for-9 shooting.

San Antonio went on a 22-4 run to open the fourth quarter to take command.

ESPN