Associated Press
Another 50-win season appears inevitable for the red-hot San Antonio Spurs. Their chances of securing a fifth consecutive Southwest Division title or reaching the Western Conference's top four are a little less clear.
The Spurs have made strides in closing the gap and will try for a sixth consecutive win while extending their dominance over the lowly Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
San Antonio (49-26) is on the verge of extending its NBA record of 15 consecutive 50-win seasons after clinching an 18th straight trip to the playoffs with a 103-91 victory over Orlando on Wednesday.
The Spurs were 34-23 on Feb. 25, putting them on a 49-win pace. They're on the brink of reaching the 50-victory plateau with games to spare thanks to a 15-3 stretch, and they're now pushing for the Southwest lead after once trailing by 7 1/2 games.
San Antonio is also a half-game behind the fifth-place Los Angeles Clippers in the conference and two back of division rival Memphis, one of the West's top four teams. The Spurs won't face the Grizzlies or Clippers in their final seven games but have a home-and-home series next week against Houston, the other team ahead of them in the Southwest.
"The main concern right now is just to play well," guard Manu Ginobili said. "We've had a lot of ups and downs during the season and in the last few weeks except for (an overtime loss at New York on March 17) we've been pretty steady. That's a good sign."
The Spurs are looking for a seventh consecutive victory over Denver (28-47) and eighth in nine home matchups.
San Antonio has won five straight and 20 of 23 at home. Denver, 0-2 on a three-game trip, has lost five of six on the road after a 98-84 loss to Utah on Wednesday.
The Nuggets had one of their worst shooting performances of the season at 34.7 percent and went 7 of 33 from 3-point range, dropping to 8-8 under interim coach Melvin Hunt.
Denver won six of its first eight after Hunt took over for Brian Shaw on March 3.
"We're going to play as hard as we can against San Antonio. We're going to bring everything that we have to the table to try to win a game," Hunt said. "There is no mantra or rally cry or 'run through the tape.' There's none of that. We're going to play hard.
Tony Parker has averaged a team-best 21.0 points along with 7.0 assists and 58.1 percent shooting in the past two games against Denver. Kawhi Leonard has averaged 20.0 points and 10.3 rebounds in the three matchups this season.
Leonard had 25 points and Parker 24 in the most recent meeting, a 120-111 home victory March 6.
Denver's Kenneth Faried has averaged 22.0 points and 11.8 rebounds in his last four against San Antonio. He matched a season high with 26 points and grabbed 14 boards in a 109-99 home loss to the Spurs on Jan. 20.