Jamal Murray dictated the switch, stepped back for one of his patented elbow jumpers and landed clear of Spurs defender Jakob Poeltl.
It was a routine right ankle roll suffered on an otherwise non-descript backpedal that left Murray writhing in pain with the Nuggets clinging to a 93-91 lead with 4:31 remaining in Friday’s thriller against the Spurs.
After several tense moments – made more uneasy due to the Nuggets’ already thin bench – Murray leapt up and ran to the corner.
“I thought he was done,” said Nuggets coach Michael Malone following his team’s gutsy 102-99 win over San Antonio.