Friday night’s matchup between the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies proved to be a neck-and-neck game. The Nuggets ranked No. 5 beat the Grizzlies, now ranked No. 10 by just 1 point (103-102). Despite the Grizzlies holding the lead for most of the first half, they fell short in the end.
Grizzlies lead the first half
In the first half of Friday night’s game, the Grizzlies held the majority of the lead. At the end of the first quarter, the Grizzlies were up by 5 points (26-31). By the end of the second quarter, the Nuggets had decreased the Grizzlies lead, leaving them only up by 2 points (53-55). Bench player Brandon Clarke had a great first half, leading in points. Clarke ended the first half with 16 points, going 6 out of 8 from the field, with 1 rebound. Things started to slow down for Clarke in the second half, where he only scored 4 points.
Another leading scorer for the Grizzlies at the end of the first half was Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas came out of the first half with 10 points, going 4/9 from the field and having 7 rebounds. In addition to Valanciunas having a great game, Ja Morant also helped the Grizzlies stay in the game on Friday night. Morant ended his night with 20 points. A large majority of points for the Grizzlies came from their bench Friday night. By the end of the night, the Grizzlies bench combined for 40 points. Despite holding the lead in the first half and playing a great game, the Grizzlies could not pull out a win.
The Nuggets strong defense
The Nuggets played a strong defensive game after the first half to shut down the Grizzlies. Nikola Jokic was unstoppable during Friday night’s matchup. Jokic played a great offensive and defensive game. By the final buzzer, Jokic had put up 28 points on the board, going 13 out of 22 from the field and had 7 assists. When it came to the Nuggets defense, Jokic had 15 rebounds to help keep the Nuggets ahead of the Grizzlies. In the first three quarters alone, the Nuggets had 23 points from fast breaks.
After the first half, the Nuggets shifted their focus to keeping the Grizzlies from putting points up on the board. Closing in on the Grizzlies, the Nuggets were able to outscore them 28-22 in the third quarter. As a result of the Nuggets playing a great defensive game, this helped lead them to the win. It was not an easy win, though, as the Grizzlies made sure to catch up in the fourth quarter.
A back-and-forth game in the fourth quarter
In the final quarter of the game, both teams went back and forth; putting points up on the board. This all started at the end of the third quarter when Morant hit a three-point buzzer-beater. Despite the Nuggets holding most of the lead in the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies kept connecting on three-pointers. After applying pressure, the Nuggets stayed with the Grizzlies for the last two minutes of the game, earning the win.
Up Next
The Nuggets hope to continue their winning streak when they host the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday, March 13th at 10:00 pm.
The Grizzlies hope to pick up a win on Sunday, March 14th at 2:00 pm when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder.
