In their final game before the All-Star break, the Nuggets came into the game clearly on fumes. Despite getting Nikola Jokic and Christian Braun back, the team hasn’t played up to their potential after a taxing but impressive January where Murray and mostly bench players were able to hold the Nuggets spot near the top of the Western Conference. With Jokic and CB still hobbled and the team still missing vital defensive cornerstones Aaron Gordon, Peyton Watson, and Spencer Jones, the Nuggets needed a professional win against an inferior, but motivated, group of young Grizzlies.
Here’s how it played out.
1st Quarter
The Nuggets came out a bit sloppy to start the game. Jokic had a quick turnover, and Mal missed a finger roll, but a nice reverse by Strawther and two successive layups for CB on Jok and Murray feeds gave Denver a 9-8 lead after three minutes. Then the Joker went to work, scoring six in a row in the paint. Memphis played hard, though, keeping the game tight with good outside shooting and scrambling, physical defense, ultimately taking an 18-16 lead at the five-minute mark on a Prosper finger roll. But the Nuggets answered with a Jamal jumper and three more from Jokic. Brown and THJ then subbed in and led the scoring into the close of the quarter, securing a 30-28 lead with Nikola’s 9/5/5 leading the way.
2nd Quarter
The Nuggets started the second getting going from three, leading to a 9-0 run and Memphis timeout. Cam hit the first of the game followed by THJ with two in a row including a heat-check from a step behind the arc. Even Pickett, who’s been a slump from distance, got into the action with a corner make, giving the Nuggets a 44-33 lead and extending the run to 12. Big Val and Ty Jerome then led the scoring for their respective teams, with the Grizzlies’ 6’5 point guard scoring 9 to get them back within 8 at the halfway point.
The Nuggets’ continued to dominate in the paint to close out the half. Val went out with seven points and four rebounds in just eight minutes with the Nuggets having a 23-12 rebounding advantage. After a pair of Murray free throws and Strawther’s 7th on a clean triple, Jokic was fouled and hit a pair. Memphis strung a couple of scores together after forcing turnovers on Jok and Mal and blocking Nikola at the rim, closing the gap to 60-54 going into the half.
3rd Quarter
Memphis threw the first punch in the second half, scoring two quick baskets. Murray responded with two makes of his own (14 points), but after a questionable no-call on a Cam breakaway, Jerome bounced in a three, and after GG Jackson scored off Jok’s sixth turnover, the lead was one and Coach Adelman stopped play. Murray and Jokic found CB for a pair of cutting lay-ups. A put-back for Joker, Murray’s first trey, and a Christian dunk in transition, built the lead back to six with five minutes left. The MVP then made 1-2 from the line followed by a driving layup through contact to give him 17/11/8 and build the lead back to 9.
The run continued to 10-0 out of the Grizzlies’ timeout as Jokic found Hardaway on a cut for his 13th point. Murray and Jok missed their next three shots, but Mal finally hit on a nice turnover jumper to expand the lead to 11. Bruce knocked in a three followed by Nikola drawing three free-throws (2-3) and finding THJ for his third three to close out the quarter with another triple double (Nuggets 93, Grizzlies 81).
4th Quarter
The bench started the fourth with defensive intensity. A block and steal in back-to-back possessions coupled with two Strawther floaters and a Cam dunk in transition grew the Nuggets’ lead to 13. The offense ground down heading into the middle of the quarter, though, with the refs continually allowing the Grizzlies to clutch and maul while giving them a soft whistle on the other end. KCP’s transition three then cut the Nuggets’ lead to eight and prompted a DA timeout. Kyle Anderson’s floater after a long Strawther miss got the Grizzlies to within six as Jokic continued to sit. Ty Jerome’s knockdown trey with six minutes left got Joker back into the game, a once 15-point lead having been whittled to one possession.
With the game unfortunately in the balance, the Nuggets wen to their bread and butter on offense. Murray collapsed the defense, setting up a Bruce corner three. Jok then found Julian in the far corner, who hit but a split second after the shot-clock expired. THJ’s make from the same spot did count, though, as the Nuggets hung on to a three-point lead with three minutes remaining. The Grizzlies then pushed Jokic in the back on a miss, where he great the lead back to five. KCP answered with a clutch jumper, but Jokic went to work in the lane, following up a miss with his 24th point. Nikola’s ninth(!) turnover then led to a Pippen Jr. lay-up in transition, but Joker answered with another drive and put-back.
The Grizzlies had several chances to tie but couldn’t ultimately convert. After Jamal was fouled and hit both with 12 seconds left, the Nuggets led 120-115. Cheyenne’s own Lawson Lovering was fouled on the floor, but could only make one of two, and the free throw contest was on as the Nuggets led by 4 with 4.9 seconds left. Murray’s two (22/6/7) all but sealed it.
FINAL SCORE: Memphis Grizzlies 116, Denver Nuggets 122
GAME NOTES:
- The Nuggets bench scored 43 points on 15-22 shooting (7-10 3PM)
- Despite everything, Denver is now by themselves in 3rd place in the Western Conference
- Go win the three-point contest, Jamal! You’ve earned it
