MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Grizzlies bumped their chests and barked like they weren’t scared of the top seed in the West.
By virtue of Saturday’s stunning and humbling result — a resounding 112-94 pounding of the Nuggets — they didn’t have any reason to be. The Nuggets snapped their four-game winning streak and fell to 42-19, fumbling a chance at distancing themselves from a feisty Memphis squad.
As the Nuggets head into the second game of a back-to-back Sunday at home against the Clippers, they’ll have a five-game lead over the No. 2 Grizzlies with just 21 games left in the regular season.
The rout was so convincing Denver’s starters weren’t needed for the fourth quarter. Nikola Jokic ended the night with 15 points and 13 rebounds but only three assists. Jamal Murray struggled with just eight points on 3-of-13 shooting. Though there were myriad issues with Denver’s approach — turnovers and woeful 3-point shooting to name a few — Aaron Gordon’s absence for the fifth consecutive game due to a rib contusion hurt them inside.
Grizzlies sparkplug Ja Morant paced them with 23 points, and Memphis pummeled Denver inside with 60 points in the paint. The Nuggets’ new-look bench, which played most of the fourth quarter, left plenty to be desired.
Whatever urgency the Nuggets discussed at halftime wasn’t apparent to start the third quarter. They were lackadaisical in their rotations and slow to adjust when switching to zone. Neither strategy mattered, as Memphis worked them inside and out. Turnovers led to run-outs, especially for Morant, who converted on several acrobatic finishes.
The production wasn’t there from typically reliable Michael Porter Jr., who struggled from outside, or spot starter Vlatko Cancar. And Denver’s backups couldn’t find anything sustainable, either. It wasn’t that the Nuggets didn’t play hard; it was more so that Memphis’ aggressive defense busted their rhythm. The Grizzlies carried a commanding 94-62 lead into the fourth quarter.
Heading into Saturday’s contest, Denver had trudged all the way back from the 28th ranked defense earlier this season to No. 13 overall.
“The offense was never the issue,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said before the game. “It was, can we defend? Obviously it took a little longer than I think any of us maybe expected when you add as many new players as we did, but the defense, the 3-point defense and the winning plays that we had in that Cleveland game in the fourth quarter…”
Morant was, understandably, the Nuggets’ most pressing defensive priority and high atop their scouting plan.
“In transition, he’s a one-man break,” Malone said before he racked up 14 first-half points, doing most of his damage from inside.
Defensively, the Nuggets broke down on multiple levels, and everything that could go wrong in the first half, did.
Memphis ratcheted its pressure up, forcing 10 Nuggets turnovers. The Grizzlies deserved credit for some, but others were just poor passes into traffic. Beyond that, Memphis converted 9 of 21 3-pointers while the Nuggets couldn’t drain anything. Their abysmal 3-for-16 mark from 3-point range had a lot to do with Denver’s 66-42 halftime deficit.
Jokic finished the first two quarters with a team-high 11 points and nine rebounds but was frustrated by Memphis’ physical interior coverages. The Grizzlies assembled a 38-22 advantage in points in the paint, as Denver failed to make anything hard for them defensively.
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