NBA Game Summary - Denver at San Antonio

San Antonio, TX (Basketball News) - Andre Miller finished with 31 points and Marcus Camby collected 12 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots, as the Denver Nuggets upset the San Antonio Spurs, 93-87, in Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals at the SBC Center.

Carmelo Anthony netted 14 points and Kenyon Martin added 11 points and nine rebounds for the seventh-seeded Nuggets, who went 32-8 to end the regular season under the guidance of head coach George Karl. Karl was hired on January 27th to replace interim head coach Michael Cooper.

Manu Ginobili had 23 points to lead the second-seeded Spurs, who were the 2003 NBA champions before losing in the conference semifinals to the Los Angeles Lakers last season.

Tim Duncan, who missed some time towards the end of the season with an ankle injury, posted 18 points and 11 rebounds, but shot just 7-of-22 from the field in the loss.

Nazr Mohammed had 15 points and 15 rebounds in the loss, whole Tony Parker and Robert Horry added 12 points apiece.

Game 2 of the series is slated for Wednesday evening in San Antonio.

The Spurs held an 81-76 lead after Glenn Robinson’s basket with 10:19 remaining. However, that would be the Spurs’ final bucket until Horry hit a meaningless three-pointer with nine seconds left in the game.

San Antonio still held a one-point lead when Bruce Bowen made 1-of-2 free throws to make it 84-83 with 2:16 left. However, the Nuggets responded with a 10-0 run to seal the victory. Earl Boykins’ jumper started the run with 1:55 left and Camby hit another big shot to make it 88-84 with 51.9 seconds left. Duncan then missed a couple attempts from in close and Denver sealed the win by hitting 5-of-6 free throws in the final 30 seconds of the game.

"We stayed with our game plan and guys made plays," said Miller.

The first quarter was tight throughout and San Antonio would lead 27-23 at the end of 12 minutes. The Spurs led for the entire period and their biggest lead of the quarter came after Horry’s jumper made it 27-21 with six seconds left. Boykins would answered with a jump shot just before the buzzer to cut the lead to four.

Denver opened the second quarter on an 11-6 run to take a one-point advantage. Martin hit 1-of-2 free throws to start the stretch and his dunk handed the Nuggets a 34-33 advantage with 5:41 remaining.

The score was tied at 39-39 when the Spurs used an 11-2 burst to open a 50-41 cushion. Parker made a pair of layups in the run and Horry hit a pair of free throws to make it a nine-point game with 1:23 remaining.

However, the Nuggets used an 11-2 spurt of their own to close the period and even the score at 52-52. Miller capped the run with a buzzer-beater from half court.

"We needed some energy plays," said Camby. "That gave us some momentum going into the half."

Miller led all scorers with 24 points at the half, while Ginobili paced San Antonio with 18.

The teams took turns with the lead early in the third quarter, but the Spurs were able to open a 73-68 advantage after Horry’s three-pointer with 3:10 left. However, Denver cut that deficit to 75-73 by the end of the third quarter.