NUGGETS A BUCKET SHORT IN SECOND LOSS OF SEASON
» Nikola Jokic took a deep exhale, one long, frustrated breath after a diff icult night at the off ice. Jokic’s lone shot of the game — a last-second 3-pointer at the buzzer — was off the mark, and the Grit-n-Grind Grizzlies held on to win 89-87 on Wednesday night to snap the Nuggets’ f ive-game winning streak.
Now 9-2, the Nuggets missed their chance at tying the best start after 11 games in franchise history.
“We’re 9-1 going into tonight, and our offense has been pretty good, putting up big numbers,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “I don’t know what it does to our offense (when Jokic is not aggressive). Obviously, we’d like him to take more shots, but right now he’s not shooting the ball, and we’ll have to figure out why.”
After the Nuggets clawed back to tie it at 87 on the strength of a Jamal Murray step-back jumper, Marc Gasol buried two free throws give the Grizzlies the edge.
The Nuggets’ frustration was palpable on a night when they shot just 39 percent from the field and had 19 turnovers that led to 23 Grizzlies points. Jokic finished with four points, seven rebounds and four assists while the rest of the starters largely struggled as well. Gary Harris shot just 6-for-16 for
20 points and Murray, coming off his career-high 48 point outing, was just 6-of-21 for 15 points.
The Grizzlies got 20 points each from rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. and Gasol.
It took several quarters to manifest, but Denver’s defensive principles eventually kicked in. The Nuggets, the second-best defensive team in the NBA, held the Grizzlies to 39 points in the second half.
“My hope is that as the year goes on, our defense remains a constant,” Malone said. “It’s an anchor to our team no matter what’s going on on offense.”
It was Wednesday, but the offense was too cold to overcome.
The game was inching away from the Nuggets in the third quarter after Kyle Anderson buried a 3pointer from the corner to make it 59-51. But, infused by a bench outfit that has routinely produced even when the rest of the offense hasn’t, the Nuggets reeled off a 7-0 run and eventually tied it at 61. Monte Morris hit a runner, Juan Hernangomez cleaned up a secondchance opportunity and Trey Lyles buried a triple to even it up heading into the fourth quarter. The Nuggets’ bench outscored the Grizzlies’ 41-26, including 10 from Mason Plumlee.
“When we went to our bench in that second half, those guys showed unbelievable life, energy, effort,” Malone said.
The Nuggets had immense respect for a much-improved Grizzlies team. With Mike Conley and Gasol healthy, along with Jackson, the Grizzlies are a team with legitimate playoff aspirations centered around their seventhrated defense.
“Marc Gasol, no disrespect to him, has never been labeled a great athlete, but he has been a defensive player of the year because of his IQ , his intelligence, his positioning,” Malone said. “Will Nikola ever be a defensive player of the year? I don’t know. I wouldn’t put it past him. But I’ve seen huge growth in that area from Nikola Jokic in the last couple of years. There’s definitely a comparison there.”
The Grizzlies closed the first half on a 10-0 run to take a 50-47 lead. Jackson was a terror in the paint and on second-chance points, benefiting from all the defensive attention on Conley and Gasol. The Nuggets hung close despite shooting just 39 percent from the field compared to the Grizzles’ 54 percent.
On the other end, the Nuggets anticipated the Grizzlies’ paint coverage but couldn’t take advantage throughout the first two quarters. They shot just 4-of-14 from 3point range as a team, while Harris knocked down three treys. Jokic, who battled foul trouble and turnovers in the first half, didn’t take one shot attempt throughout the first two quarters despite excellent early positioning.