Grizzlies Take Down Nuggets Again in Jokic’s Absence!

Even without Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray insisted, the team Denver brought on the road this week was a good one. Good enough that it should have won Friday night in New Orleans, at least.

With an opportunity to prove his point in a second consecutive game without the MVP center, the Nuggets fell behind by as many as 24 in a 105-90 loss to the Grizzlies on Sunday.

Murray and Michael Porter Jr. combined for 23 points on a 10-for-27 day from the field while Julian Strawther was the team’s only double-digit scorer until the fourth quarter. Murray turned it over six times as Denver (7-5) lost the first of two games in Memphis. The rematch on Tuesday will be played in the same venue but on a different court, indicating NBA Cup stakes.

“It’s our inability to score the ball right now,” coach Michael Malone said. “That’s two games in a row. Obviously, a big part of that is sitting home in Denver, in Aaron (Gordon) and Nikola. I mentioned pregame, obviously the importance of Jamal and Michael, who struggled to make shots tonight. Not by a lack of effort. But shots just didn’t go down.”

The Grizzlies weren’t playing with a fully intact roster, either. Ja Morant was missing his sixth game of the season due to injury. But their next-best options stepped up enough to blow out Denver even while shooting 45% from the floor as a team. Jaren Jackson Jr. went for 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Desmond Bane was three assists shy of a triple-double and delivered a couple of clutch buckets to keep Denver at a distance after the gap was briefly closed to 11.

Murray’s argument in the Nuggets’ defense on Friday was predicated on their offensive execution up until it was time to knock down a shot. He had a point. They generated high-quality looks in defeat, largely out of Murray’s play-making against ball-screen blitzes.

Shot-making continued to be a problem on Sunday, but the half-court offense seemed to lack sharpness as well for stretches. Denver leaned heavily on transition opportunities in the first half to avoid that, outscoring the Grizzlies by nine on fast breaks and by eight in the paint — highlighted by some mature finishes and passes by Peyton Watson. But that still wasn’t enough to even keep the Nuggets within single digits at the break. Then Memphis quickly caught up in transition points after halftime to open up a 20-point advantage, while Porter and Murray missed three consecutive clean outside looks.

“I thought (Murray) was being held and grabbed and fouled all night long, and I was saying that to the refs,” Malone said, “and it never changed.”

Malone, back after missing the game Friday to see his daughter’s senior-year state volleyball tournament, had no update on Jokic’s status going forward. He said he will “continue to check in with him; make sure he and his wife are OK. But no news there.”

The 10th-year coach stuck with the same starting five that lead assistant David Adelman played in New Orleans, with Dario Saric at center despite having been previously out of the rotation. Saric was Denver’s second scorer to reach double figures in Memphis, finishing the game with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

When it was time to make substitutions, though, Malone made a change. His first player off the bench was DeAndre Jordan, who had barely played this season. The Nuggets were out-rebounded by 13 against the Pelicans, a problem that was especially prevalent when Zeke Nnaji was at the five. Memphis entered Sunday’s game leading the league in rebounding rate, aided by enormous rookie Zach Edey coming off the bench.

“Memphis is a really big team,” Malone said. “They have a lot of size. A lot of length. … Going into the game, knowing that they led the NBA the last five games in second-chance points at over 18, and D.J. per minute is probably one of our best defensive rebounders. So it was just an opportunity to get him out there.”

The glass wasn’t a problem this time. Even in a bad overall game, Murray showed solid effort there, grabbing six boards to accompany his seven assists and three steals. The young trio of Watson, Strawther and Christian Braun each contributed four or more rebounds.

“I’m gonna hold Julian to a high standard,” Malone said. “I thought he was really good offensively, and I thought defensively, he’s gotta improve. He’s gotta be a guy that can help us on both ends of the floor. And that’s not a criticism. That is just something where I believe that he can be a real difference-maker.”