SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- John Lucas passed for a club-record 24 assists and rookie John Paxson scored a career-high 25 points Sunday to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 157-154 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Backup center Mark McNamara hit for 18 of his career-high 22 points in the final period and Paxson popped in 17 as San Antonio outscored Denver 48-43 in the final period.
Paxson connected on 12 of 15 from the field. McNamara was 9-for-11 and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Lucas, who came off the bench to hand out an NBA-record 14 assists in the second quarter, dished out eight in the final period as San Antonio overcame a 111-109 third-quarter deficit.
The Spurs, who this season will miss the playoffs for the first time in 11 years, set a team record with 50 assists. The Nuggets already had clinched a playoff berth.
Banks added 24 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and handed out seven assists for San Antonio.
Alex English and Kiki Vandeweghe scored 30 points each for the Nuggets, and Dan Schayes added 23 points and had 12 rebounds. Rob Williams scored 17 points and had 11 assists.
