The rookie sensation finished with 23 points, 15 rebounds, nine blocks and eight assists but was outdueled by Nikola Jokic, who finished with 42 points.

The Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic (15) goes to the basket against the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first quarter at Ball Arena on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, in Denver.

DENVER — Gregg Popovich has seen a lot of great efforts in his nearly 30 years as coach of the Spurs, especially during the Tim Duncan years when the franchise won five NBA championships.

This Spurs team is on track to finish the season as the worst in club history, but Popovich won’t soon forget what he saw at the Ball Center on Tuesday night.

Depleted by injuries and facing the defending NBA champions on the road, the Spurs gave the Denver Nuggets a big-time scare before falling 110-105.

“That’s one of the most competitive games I have been part of for many years,” Popovich said. “For 48 minutes under difficult circumstances, these guys just played. Didn’t worry about a call or a turnover or whatever, they just went to the next play. And so many people participated. But the effort for 48 was really impressive, the best I’ve seen all year, and, like I said, in several years.”

The game will also be remembered for the epic duel between Spurs rookie star Victor Wembanyama and Nuggets superstar and two-time MVP Nikola Jokic.

Wembanyama flirted with a quadruple-double finishing with 23 points, 15 rebounds, nine blocks and eight assists in 34 minutes, but Jokic came out ahead with 42 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and two blocks.

The all-but-certain rookie of the year became just the fourth player in NBA history to record seven or more games of 20-plus points, five-plus assists and five-plus blocks in a single season. The others are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon and David Robinson.

“It was a tough, like I am tired right now, hard to think, but we had a good performance,” a spent Wembanyama said while sitting in a chair outside the locker room.

 Zalubowski/AP

Jokic had three rare dunks in helping the Nuggets improve to 53-23 and retake sole possession of first place in the West. He said he had to be forceful around the rim facing Wembanyama, who leads the league in blocks.

“He had like 600 blocks tonight, but we got the win,” Jokic said.

Denver took the lead for good at 108-105 on Michael Porter Jr.’s 3 with 28 seconds left. Wembanyama tried to counter, but his 3-point attempt with 18 seconds left misfired.

Jokic sank two free throws with 8 seconds left to seal the win.

The already shorthanded Spurs got even thinner when Cedi Osman rolled his right ankle late in the first half and was ruled out for the second half. X-rays were negative, but his status for Friday’s game at New Orleans is unclear.

The Spurs were already without two starters, Devin Vassell and Jeremy Sochan, and their sixth man, Keldon Johnson. Osman replaced Sochan in the starting lineup.

The Spurs announced Monday that Vassell (right foot stress fracture) and Sochan (ankle impingement) are done for the season after they both missed Sunday’s loss to Golden State. Popovich said Johnson (left foot sprain) is day-to-day after also fighting through a stomach bug in Denver.

Malaki Branham, who has replaced Vassell in the starting lineup, led the Spurs (18-58) with 24 points. Tre Jones notched his third career triple-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.

Aaron Gordon aided Jokic with 23 points. Porter finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds.

Here are three takeaways from the first game of the Spurs’ final multi-game road trip of the season, a journey that ends Friday night in New Orleans:

1. Wembanyama battling Jokic was something to behold

In the heat of battle, it’s difficult to appreciate individual performances sometimes, but Jones found himself marveling at times at Wembanyama and Jokic.

“Those non-American players are taking over like everybody is saying,” Jones said. “But it’s really cool to see how the game is going. You’ve got Jokic, obviously. He’s 7 foot, one of the best passers in the world, bringing the ball up. And then you’ve got Victor, 7-4 bringing the ball up as well, playing point guard. Just a whole different era of basketball — I won’t say entering in — we are in now. We saw it tonight. It is definitely crazy seeing 7-footers plus handling the ball, doing all the things they are able to do with the ball now.”

defense & offense 🥶 pic.twitter.com/p3so1BX26y

— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) April 3, 2024

Wembanyama said it’s “fun” for him testing himself against Jokic, widely considered the best basketball player in the world.

“It’s really demanding in terms of scouting, in terms of we have to react quickly, there is no room for mistakes at any position,” he said.

Said Popovich, “Victor gained a lot of respect tonight because Nikola is the best. For Victor to want to guard him and to learn, it was a real testament to how good he wants to be. To go up against Nikola, like I said, shows a lot. And he is learning by the minute.”

Wembanyama said he wasn’t aware he was close to a quadruple-double.

“It’s going to happen. But I have other priorities,” he said.

2. Jones had himself quite a night as well

Jones became just the seventh player in franchise history to record three or more triple-doubles.

He’s now on a list that includes Dejounte Murray, Tim Duncan, David Robinson, Alvin Robertson, Johnny Moore and Larry Kenon.

“It’s just a blessing to be able to play with a guy like this,” Wembanyama said of Jones. “He’s young, but he’s already got some years of experience. When we need stability on the court, we always come back to him. He knows the plays. The other day the coach called the play, and Tre said, ‘No, no, we are doing this.’ The coach said, ‘Oh, yeah, you are right.’ His mind, he is able to stay clear for long periods of time.”

3. Poor night at the free-throw line did in the Spurs

The Spurs shot just 27.6% (8 of 29) from the field in the fourth quarter, but it was their pitiful performance at the charity stripe that did them in.

Making 2 of 5 freebies in the fourth, the Spurs shot just 50% (8 of 16) from the free-throw line for the game.

“We missed some easy ones for sure, myself included (in the fourth),” Jones said. “That’s just how it goes sometimes. But we shot 50 percent from the free-throw line, so I think that is the main thing that killed us tonight. It wasn’t necessarily shots not falling and whatnot. We take care of free throws, the game could definitely fall our way.”

Said Wembanyama, who missed 3 of 6 freebies, “In the fourth quarter, it definitely hurt us. If we made all the free throws in the fourth, it would have got us at least to overtime. Yeah, it’s details.”