Game Recap: Memphis at Denver
By Mathew Huff
The Denver Nuggets came up short against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Denver Nuggets fell in a close battle with the Memphis Grizzlies by a final score of 105-98.
Despite being able to hang with Memphis for the entire game, the Nuggets just did not have enough firepower at the end of the day.
There were a few issues that constituted to this loss. Nikola Jokic seems to still be struggling a bit and lack of ball movement was a constant feature throughout the game.
There were some positives though. Gary Harris had a Michael Jordan-esc dunk where he took off from near the free-throw line early in the game to help set the tone.
Denver Nuggets
He carried on his hot streak as he finished with 19 points on 50% shooting to go along with a steal and a block. Jokic still isn’t quite himself, but he is slowly re-gaining form.
He finished with a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. However, Denver’s inability to slow down the big 3 of Memphis (Conley, Gasol, and Randolph), cost them in the end. The trio combined for 74 points out of the Grizzlies’ 105 points in total taking advantage of the Nuggets’ less than stellar defense.
Denver allowed Memphis to shoot 45% from the field as a team as the catch-phrase “defense wins championships,” was certainly in full effect as the defensive minded team prevailed. Coach Michael Malone and the entire Nuggets team are going to have to tighten up on that end of the floor if they want to make the post season.
I know that sounds like a very repetitive theme of this season, but it is the truth.
With that in mind, it was nice to see the team stay competitive throughout the entire game. They may have taken the loss, but at least they didn’t get blown out. They only lost the game by 6 points.
That is only by two 3-pointers. A couple of shots bounce their way, they get some stops on defense, and suddenly, Denver comes out victorious instead.
Sadly, luck just wasn’t on their side this day.
Must Read: W2W4: Memphis at Denver
At the end of the day, the Nuggets at least went down swinging.