The Denver Nuggets survive a gritty effort from the Memphis Grizzlies

The Denver Nuggets recover from its woeful Christmas day performance with a comforting win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.

Despite a respectable 21-9 record, the Denver Nuggets loss on Christmas day encouraged more silence from the national media. Yes, the Nuggets lost to an injury-riddled New Orleans Pelicans squad. Of course, the Denver Nuggets can do better.

Thankfully, Christmas games don’t count for two, and Denver’s lack of segments on ESPN’s First Take don’t equate to lousy basketball, just bad tv. The season must go on, and championship teams weather storms while others cower.

In what seemed like a rebound game for Denver, Nikola Jokic educated promising Memphis Grizzlies center, Jaren Jackson Jr.,  with an all-around performance. Mason Plumlee, Denver’s usual spark off the bench, found himself in the starting lineup in light of Paul Millsaps‘s quad contusion.

Denver ran in the first quarter as if the Christmas day critiques struck a nerve. After a 26-point quarter, and an undeniably suffocating defensive effort, the Nuggets finished the first quarter up 26-11. It felt like Denver was coming full circle in light of the great showing.

However, despite the cushion created in the first 12 minutes of the contest, Memphis endured and picked away at the lead, ending the first half only down 11 points as the Nuggets stayed afloat 39-50. Momentum, although an intangible force, does exist.

If momentum wasn’t a real factor in sports, then consider the Memphis Grizzlies third-quarter eruption as exhibit A. In what seemed in an instant, the Grizzlies came within three points following a floater from rookie sensation Ja Morant.

Perhaps, showcasing its 2020 New Years’ resolution, the Denver Nuggets snapped out of its sleep and confined Memphis’ comeback efforts. The previously mentioned Plumlee made use of his first start of the season by scoring 15 points and seven rebounds in the mix.

Awaking the sleeping giant, Nikola Jokic

Jokic, as alluded to earlier, had a grand game. The second half served as the canvas in which the artist known as the Joker shared his masterpiece, the triple-double. After an early-season slumber, Jokic continues to perform in a multitude of facets.

On a night where Jokic went 12-19 from the field on 2-5 three-point shooting, the 10 rebounds, and 10 assists tell the deeper story.  The Nuggets starting lineup scored 93 points.

A point was made this game: Jokic’s focus as a scorer and passer is a necessary occurrence for the Nuggets to succeed at an elite level.

Appreciating the Denver Nuggets resilience

Ultimately, the Nuggets took care of business 119-110, mainly thanks to the dominant performance of the first quarter. When Memphis punched back, however, the Nuggets didn’t quake at the knees and collapse. On the contrary, it countered with a few crucial jabs in the fourth.

Despite a 42-point closing quarter, the Nuggets survived the first game of a back-to-back this weekend with the struggling Sacramento Kings in town Sunday evening. Unfortunately, the Nuggets didn’t get much rest as the starting lineup worked its way out of another scoring surge.

Nonetheless, the contest ended the game as victors and the crowd left with a collective smile.