The Grizzlies’ struggles at home continued in a 123-118 loss to the Denver Nuggets, their fourth loss at FedExForum after starting the season 2-0 at home.
Let’s get into it.
Denver controlled this game from the opening tip to the final buzzer, giving them their second wire-to-wire win of the season. It also reminded everyone that, despite it being a few seasons since he last earned an MVP award, Nikola Jokić is still very good at basketball.
And he wasn’t even the best player on his team last night; that distinction goes to guard Jamal Murray, who led all scorers with 30 points, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter.
The first half was just the Nuggets putting on a shooting clinic and playing with their food, which was reflected in their 65-52 halftime lead. In the two quarters, Memphis looked like what they are: a young team in the first year of a rebuild.
Denver led by as many as 18 points in the first half, and that buffer let them absorb Memphis’s onslaught in the second half.
The Grizzlies came out after halftime and played like a completely different team. They didn’t go down without a fight, outscoring the Nuggets 38–29 in the third quarter and trimming a 13-point halftime deficit to just four entering the final frame.
Memphis continued to chip away at the lead in the fourth, cutting it to 115–113 with 2:42 remaining. But Denver’s Cameron Johnson responded with five consecutive points, including a critical three-pointer that pushed the Nuggets’ lead back to seven.
The Grizzlies had one last opportunity to force overtime, but rookie Cameron Boozer missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with 6.9 seconds remaining, and that was that.
Turnovers were a problem again, shocking, I know. Memphis gave up 15 points off its 12 turnovers and only picked up two points off Denver’s six turnovers.
I wonder what it feels like to have single-digit turnovers? We might never know.
Despite the loss, several Grizzlies players delivered great performances:
Ty Jerome finished the night with 22 points, 11 of those scored in the fourth quarter.
Jaylen Wells also finished with 22 points, shooting 5-of 10-from beyond the arc.
Cedric Coward closed out with a 15-point double-double, his second of the season.
Rooker Cameron Boozer added 13 points and 11 rebounds in his fourth double-double of the season.
From the second unit, Cam Spencer put up a season-high 15 points on 5-of-7 overall shooting and was 3-of-4 from three-point range.
Jerami Grant scored 14 points on 6-of-9 overall shooting and 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, his sixth consecutive game scoring in double figures.
Who Got Next?
The Grizzlies are heading to New Orleans to face the Pelicans on Friday in another NBA Cup game. Tip-off is at 7 PM CST.
