Monday night, the Memphis Grizzlies and Denver Nuggets met at Denver’s Ball Arena. The two teams met on April 19th in Denver, a game that the Nuggets would win 139-137 after two overtime periods.
The Grizzlies came into Monday’s game with a 31-28 record. Monday’s game was the finale of a 7 game road trip for the Grizzlies. The road trip featured wins over the Bucks, two wins over the Trailblazers, and a win over the Bulls. Ja Morant is the young leader for the Grizzlies. Morant averages 19.5 points and 7.3 assists per game.
The Nuggets, on the other hand, came into Monday’s game with a 39-21 record. In Denver’s last game against Memphis, MVP front-runner Nikola Jokic showed out. The big man scored 47 points, grabbed 15 rebounds as well as dishing out 7 assists.
Both teams have been hot of late, the Nuggets winning 4 of their last 5 and the Grizzlies winning 3 of their last 5. They would both look to keep the momentum going on Monday at Ball Arena.
First Half
The first half was pretty back and forth throughout.
In the first quarter, the game was a bit sluggish as both teams came out slow and were feeling one another out. The two teams combined for just 39 total points in a low-scoring first quarter. Denver held the edge after 1 quarter 21-18. Things changed in the second quarter, though, as both teams got comfortable and started to put up more points. The two teams combined for nearly 70 points in a much higher scoring second quarter.
The story of the first half was shooting. Denver shot 47.8% from the field in the first half and made 7 three-point shots. Memphis kept up with Denver’s hot shooting by shooting 41.5% from the field, but they made just 3 shots from deep. They were able to force 10 Denver turnovers as well as make 16 of their 19 free throw attempts.
Denver’s hot shooting was too much though as they held a slim 58-53 lead at half.
Nikola Jokic got going early in this one. The Denver big man recorded a first half double-double by scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Michael Porter Jr. also had a big first half scoring 15 for Denver.
Memphis’ young star Ja Morant had a good first half. Morant scored 16 points as well as grabbing 3 rebounds and dishing out 2 assists. Jonas Valanciunas scored 10 points in the first half for Memphis.
Second half
Through the third quarter, this game remained tight. The two teams came out of the locker room maybe a little tense, and the offense didn’t flow quite as good as the second quarter but not as bad as the first. Denver held an 85-75 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Things got out of hand in the fourth quarter. Memphis came into the final quarter down 10 and simply couldn’t find the offense to keep up with Denver. 35 fourth quarter points for Denver made this game a blowout in favor of the home team. Memphis couldn’t keep up, and Denver took advantage to win in blowout fashion 120-96.
A big difference maker in this one was the difference in shot attempts between the two teams. Denver attempted 94 shots and made 45 of them, while Memphis attempted just 81 shots and made 34.
Michael Porter Jr. exploded for 31 points to led Denver to victory. He also grabbed 7 rebounds in the win. Jokic finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists in what turned out to be a great game for the MVP candidate. Aaron Gordon also added 15 points in the win.
Ja Morant led the way for Memphis. Morant scored 27 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, and dished out 6 assists. Valanciunas scored 13 points and grabbed just 3 rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 10 points and 7 rebounds off the bench in just his 3rd game of the season.
What’s Next?
With the win, Denver is now 40-21 and remains the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference. Looking ahead, they will face the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday in Denver.
Memphis drops to 31-29 with the loss and is now tied with the San Antonio Spurs for the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. They will look to bounce back on Wednesday when they take on the Portland Trailblazers in Memphis.
