The Nuggets opened their break after the All-Star against the Memphis Grizzlies, which turned into a grinding nail. Ultimately, Denver climbed strong and held on for a point. Nikola Jokic led the way with a solid 28 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists in the evening, while Michael Porter Jr. and Will Barton scored 21 each.
For the Grizzlies, players Dillon Brooks and Brandon Clarke held the fort. Each scored 20 points, while star Ja Morant scored just 16 in a quiet effort.
MPJ had a phenomenal first quarter with 9 points and 5 rebounds on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, the rest of the Nuggets (besides Jokic) struggled, and even more when the substitutes started arriving. That was the story for the first half – good entries, mostly bad bank. At one point, Jokic lost what would have been a sick ax dunk, but on the other hand he had a solid first half with 17-7-3 at halftime, but Denver lost 55-53.
Nuggets fans everywhere collectively had a heart attack when, in the first 30 seconds of the third quarter, Jokic sprained his ankle and limped off the court. They also gave a deep sigh of relief when, a few minutes later, he was back on the floor and looked so good. His return helped to repel the Grizzlies’ effort to pull away, and the Nuggets were quickly back on top. Denver ended up winning the third by 12 points, but it would have been more if it hadn’t let Memphis make a nice run to end the period.
The first parts of the fourth quarter were a brickfest by both bench units. Once the starters returned to Denver he built his lead, but three consecutive Dillon Brooks kept Memphis within an attack distance. The two teams exchanged baskets for a while and in the final 30 seconds Denver had a four point advantage thanks to Jokic, until Desmond Bane hit three of the timeout. In Denver’s penultimate possession, Jokic took to Valenciunas, but had his floater blocked by Brandon Clarke, leaving Memphis with enough time to perform an ATO for a chance to win.
Ja Morant received the pass and drove against Jokić, who went straight up even when Morant fell to the ground. Rodney Mott raised his hand and it looked like the Nuggets would suffer the same fate as they did against Washington when Bradley Beal won the game with free throws as time ran out … but no whistle until Dillon Brooks hit Jokic! Foul in Memphis, game over. Mott was probably indicating verticality in Jokic, but even so it was a very bizarre ending.
Overall, a solid W for Nuggets. Jokic continued his MVP campaign, MPJ looked good on both ends of the court and Will Barton seems to have regained some confidence. The only real downside was Jamal Murray’s play, which was pretty awful. Murray hit just 1-14 and with three points breaks his streak of 12 games of more than 20 points. It is a shame that his shot did not fall, but he will have plenty of time to make up for it, starting tomorrow against Dallas.