National Basketball Association
Memphis 101, Denver 94
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 17, 2018
Where: FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee
Officials:
#74 Curtis Blair, #4 Sean Wright, #77 Karl Lane
Attendance:
16501
By Field Level Media
Dillon Brooks scored 24 points and Tyreke Evans added 20 points and seven assists as the Memphis Grizzlies ended a 19-game losing streak by recording a 101-94 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday at FedExForum.
Wayne Selden scored 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting and Marc Gasol scored 14 for Memphis, which won for the first time since defeating the Phoenix Suns on Jan. 29. Jarell Martin collected 13 rebounds and JaMychal Green grabbed 11 for the Grizzlies.
Nikola Jokic recorded 17 points and 12 rebounds and Jamal Murray scored 16 for Denver, which shot just 36.8 percent from the field. Paul Millsap and Trey Lyles each scored 12 points and Wilson Chandler and Devin Harris added 10 apiece.
The 19-game losing streak was the longest during the Grizzlies' time in Memphis and matched for second-longest in franchise history. The longest was a 23-game skid during the 1995-96 season when the team was located in Vancouver.
The Nuggets recovered from an early 21-point deficit to tie the game in the fourth quarter but were unable to make a final push.
Denver trailed 84-75 entering the final stanza and quickly cut the deficit to one after Harris scored eight straight points. The Nuggets caught the Grizzlies at 86 on a 3-pointer by Torrey Craig with 8:18 left.
But Millsap's jumper with 2:47 left proved to be Denver's final points and left the club trailing 96-94. Evans scored a basket with 1:58 to play to make it a four-point game.
Gasol made two free throws with 30.7 remaining and Evans split a pair with 16.9 seconds left to seal it.
Memphis squandered most of a 21-point, second-quarter lead and held a 53-48 lead at the break.
The Grizzlies led 23-8 after Briante Weber's basket with 4:32 left in the opening quarter and led by as many as 20 before taking a 34-17 lead into the second stanza. The lead reached 39-18 on Brooks' 22-footer with 9:22 remaining.
Memphis' advantage was still 14 heading into the final minute before Jokic and Murray made 3-pointers and Murray converted with a three-point play to cut the Denver deficit to five.
The Grizzlies began rebuilding the lead in the third quarter as Brooks drained four 3-pointers over the first 3:42 to make it 65-54. The Nuggets responded with a 10-4 run to trim it to five with 3:31 left but Memphis was back up by nine at the end of the quarter.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Denver |
|
Memphis |
Nikola Jokic 17 |
Scoring |
Dillon Brooks 24 |
Jamal Murray 3 |
Assists |
Tyreke Evans 7 |
Nikola Jokic 13 |
Rebounds |
Jarell Martin 13 |
Nikola Jokic 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Tyreke Evans 6 |
Nikola Jokic 3 |
Steals |
Tyreke Evans 2 |
Will Barton 2 |
Blocks |
Marc Gasol 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Denver
|
94 |
36.8 |
9-33 |
21-29 |
17 |
49 |
5 |
10 |
10 |
Memphis
|
101 |
40.7 |
13-32 |
22-28 |
21 |
47 |
9 |
5 |
11 |
Upcoming Games
-
Memphis will play their next game on the road against Brooklyn. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .316 after a win and .260 after a loss.
-
Denver will play their next game on the road against Miami. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .447 after a win and .656 after a loss.