Spurs Sweep in a Rough One at Denver

Sean Elliott’s layup with 33 seconds left Tuesday led the San Antonio Spurs to a 99-95 victory and a three-game sweep of the Nuggets in their first-round playoff series. The game was marred by five technical fouls and a trash-throwing outburst by angry fans.

The Spurs, who have been knocked out of the first round three of the last four years, withstood a furious fourth-quarter Denver comeback and the raucous crowd to advance to the second round, where they will meet the winner of the Seattle-Lakers series. The Lakers lead, 2-1.

“It’s a small sprint,” said Spurs guard Avery Johnson. “We won the first sprint, but we know we have three more.”

Denver played the second half without Coach Bernie Bickerstaff, ejected before halftime. Fans reacted by throwing objects onto the court, and San Antonio Coach Bob Hill was hit in the head by a piece of debris.

“That was the most hostile environment I’ve been in--in America,” said Hill, who experienced unruly fans while coaching in Italy. “To throw something to hurt someone, that just doesn’t make any sense.”

Things calmed down in the second half, but 63 fouls were called in the second physical game of the series. After Game 2, four players were fined by the league for rough play.

The Nuggets fouled Avery Johnson, who made one of two free throws with 9.9 seconds left for a 96-93 edge. Denver got the rebound, but Reggie Williams passed up a three-point shot to set up Dikembe Mutombo’s dunk.

Denver fouled Elliott with 2.7 seconds left. He made the first free throw, then rebounded his miss.