For the first time in six years, the Denver Nuggets (54-28; 0-1) are in the NBA Playoffs. Their postseason could have started better, and now head coach Mike Malone and Most Valuable Player candidate Nikola Jokic will need to rebound in Game 2 as they aim to avoid an 0-2 series hole when they take on Gregg Popovich and the San Antonio Spurs (48-34; 1-0) in Game 2 of their Western Conference First Round series at Pepsi Center on Tuesday night.
The game is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET and will be televised on NBA TV. If you want to watch a live stream of the game, you can do so via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
NBA TV is one of 85-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which allows you to watch the game (and other programs) on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages, and the upper three all include NBA TV.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
If you can’t watch live, PS Vue comes with cloud DVR.
Spurs vs Nuggets Game 2 Preview
Denver lost home-court advantage thanks to a 101-96 loss against San Antonio on Saturday night. While the Spurs have become a playoff mainstay, now 22 consecutive postseason appearances — the longest active streak in any of the four major professional sports — the No. 7 seed was still the underdog heading into the series. Saturday shifted the dynamic of the series.
The Spurs were more efficient in Game 1, connecting on 48.2% of their attempted field goals. In comparison, the Nuggets only shot 42% from the floor. Jamal Murray struggled for Denver; despite scoring 17 points, Murray made only 8-of-24 shot total attempts.
Malone, who signed a two-year contract extension back in October after seeing win-jumps (46 last year) in each of his first three seasons, told reporters his team’s shooting struggles shot them out of Game 1:
“We lost that game because, yes, we couldn’t make shots but you have to give a ton of credit to Forbes, White and Rudy Gay.”
That said, the Spurs were able to slow down the Nuggets in other ways. Malone’s Nuggets are the most interesting team in the NBA because their primary offense can still be run through the center position, in this case, Jokic. Jokic finished Game 1 with a triple-double, scoring 10 points while adding 14 rebounds and 14 assists, but Jokic’s on-court effectiveness was limited in his 36 minutes (+0).
Popovich scripted a Spurs game plan that allowed Jokic to get enough of his, but at the same time suppressed what the remainder of the Nuggets supporting cast did otherwise. Thanks to interior double teams, the Spurs forced the Nuggets into taking shots — which they didn’t make.
Neither DeMar DeRozan (team-leading 18 points, 12 rebounds) nor LaMarcus Aldridge (15 points, eight rebounds) played particularly well, but played well enough. It was veteran swingman Rudy Gay off the bench — 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, +10 in 27 minutes — that provided a spark for the Spurs, allowing the second unit to thrive in Denver. San Antonio took the lead with 2:10 remaining in the first quarter, and didn’t relinquish it for the remainder of Game 1.
Comments
Spurs vs Nuggets Game 2 Live Stream: How to Watch Online Without Cable