Nuggets 96, Spurs 86
DENVER -- Wilson Chandler had a game-high 29 points, Corey Brewer scored 28 and the Denver Nuggets won their franchise-record 21st straight at home with a 96-86 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night at the Pepsi Center.
Andre Iguodala had a triple-double with 12 points, 10 assists and 12 rebounds for the Nuggets, who moved closer to clinching home-court advantage in the first round with a week left in the season.
Tim Duncan and Gary Neal had 17 points each for San Antonio.
The Spurs are battling for the top seed in the Western Conference without two of their top players. Point guard Tony Parker was out with a sore neck and Manu Ginobili missed his fifth straight game with a right hamstring strain.
Nando De Colo and Danny Green started in their place, but they couldn't stop the Spurs from falling into a tie with Oklahoma City.
The Nuggets are also battling injuries while fighting for home-court advantage in the first round. Ty Lawson missed his fifth straight game with a strained right heel and a tear in his plantar fascia on his right foot, and Danilo Gallinari is done for the year after tearing the ACL in his left knee a week ago.
Despite the injuries, the Nuggets keep winning and are on track for the No. 3 seed in the West. They overcame some early struggles Wednesday to win for the 20th time in their last 22 games and tie the franchise record for home wins (36) and wins (54) with four games left.
While their home winning streak looked in jeopardy early, they put this one away in the fourth. Leading 69-63, the Nuggets had three steals to spark a 12-0 run to take an 82-63 with 8:08 left.
With Duncan on the bench the entire fourth quarter, San Antonio got within five with 1:33 left but Denver closed it out.
The Nuggets started the game with four turnovers and missed their first six shots. The Spurs used that time to take a 14-0 lead, but they couldn't sustain their hot shooting. San Antonio made 6-of-8 shots at the start but then missed 20 of their next 24. Denver rallied to take a 38-37 lead at half.
NOTES: The Nuggets nearly tied their season-low point total for a quarter when they scored 11 in the first. Their low is 10 in the third quarter against Memphis on March 15. ... San Antonio forward Boris Diaw will miss two to three weeks with a back injury, coach Gregg Popovich said. ... Popovich said he sat Parker on Wednesday because he wanted him close to fully healthy when the playoffs start in 10 days. "I wouldn't say he's 100 percent thrilled, but at this point I'm a little paranoid with Manu (Ginobili) being out and losing Boris for the next two to three weeks," Popovich said. "I'm not going to have the guy who's played the way he's played all year not ready for the playoffs. If I can get him a little bit more rest, that will be in order." ... Denver guard Ty Lawson practiced with the team Tuesday and Wednesday but wasn't ready to return to action. He has missed eight of the past nine games with a strained right heel and a tear in the plantar fascia in his right foot.
