One player is making Denver’s potential season sweep of the lowly Spurs appear almost as daunting as sweeping the powerful Lakers and Warriors.

Victor Wembanyama, who was already looking like one of the league’s greatest players in the final stages of his rookie season, flirted with a quadruple-double Monday night as the Nuggets battled to deal a decisive blow to San Antonio. However, Nikola Jokic worked tirelessly to solve the Wembanyama problem, scoring 42 points and grabbing 16 rebounds in a 110-105 victory.

Michael Porter Jr. hit the game-winning three with 26.7 seconds left on an assist from Christian Braun.

The Nuggets (53-23) must face San Antonio once again in their penultimate game as they compete for the Western Conference’s top spot. Joel Embiid did Denver a favor in his return from a meniscus injury Monday, defeating Oklahoma City, leaving the Thunder (52-23), Nuggets, and Timberwolves (52-23) all matched in losses.

Wembanyama ended the night with 23 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, and nine blocks.

When they met in Austin (not San Antonio) two weeks ago, Jokic adjusted to Wembanyama’s unusual length by changing his shot arc, frequently taking a running start from the perimeter to receive entry passes and operating from a front-facing floater game that allowed him to calculate how high he needed to get his shot in the air. This time, he made it his urgent goal to outrun Wemby’s wingspan. When Jokic wasn’t grabbing defensive rebounds, he was leaking out in transition.

In one captivating sequence, Wembanyama drove and scored around Jokic with a left-handed scoop shot. Jokic rushed the ball up the floor. Wembanyama snatched him up as he crossed half-court, and Jokic took up position on the right block. He appeared to beat the rookie with a post move but was ruthlessly blocked on the layup attempt. Jokic was already cherry-picking the timeline, beckoning for a quick inbound from Aaron Gordon as Wembanyama picked up a miss for an easy bucket at the opposite end. He dashed to the rim, Wembanyama trailing after, and dunked with passion, leaving no time to spare.

When there was finally a dead ball, the two huge men clapped each other on the back, exchanged an exhausted laugh, and both requested sweat towels.

Jokic’s 13 shot attempts at the end of the first quarter featured four three-pointers and three dunks, the latter tying his career high for a single quarter. He and Wembanyama accounted for 47% of field goal attempts and 51% of total points in the quarter.

When they were not present, the game felt their absence. San Antonio and Denver traded 7-0 runs to start a sluggish second quarter, each leading in a timeout by the opposing coach. The Spurs turned a 37-30 deficit into a 46-39 advantage before coughing it up by halftime. This season, they had a 1-20 road record while tied or trailing at halftime. However, they had their best lead, 74-65, in the third quarter of Monday’s game before going on a four-minute scoreless streak. Jokic led a 15-0 run with a full-court inbound pass to Justin Holiday for a corner 3-pointer, followed by a backdoor lob to Gordon, who finished with 23 points on 12 attempts.

Michael Malone started the fourth quarter with Gordon at backup five, and Denver built a 10-point lead, which San Antonio quickly erased with a late 8-0 run.