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Grizzlies Fall to Nuggets 103-102

The Grizzlies faced off against the Denver Nuggets Friday night at home but were unable to close out in the final quarter. Memphis had the ball with a chance to win on the final play but came up short on a controversial no-call.  It was the most frustrating kind of loss — a very winnable game that should not have come down to the last seconds. 

Memphis led by as many as 9 points in the first half and came back from being down 12 points in the third quarter. Still, it wasn’t enough to secure a win, who have now lost their last 5 games against the Nuggets, dating back to 2018.

There was some confusion on the last play of the game. Ja Morant had the ball with seconds left and the Grizzlies trailing by a point. On his drive to the bucket, the Grizzlies thought Morant was fouled. There was no call and Morant missed the shot. In postgame interviews, Brandon Clarke and De’Anthony Melton commented on the final play.

Clarke: “It was a great play. Ja [Morant] had a great drive. Ja is obviously one of the best players at getting in the paint and finishing. At first I thought that [Nikola] Jokic did a pretty good job. I watched the film afterwards. He might have just gone down with his arms. That is a foul. That always gets called on us. Obviously, it was a pretty physical game tonight. There were calls that were called and there were calls that weren’t called. I think it was a great play and that is a shot that Ja has made. It could’ve been a foul but it wasn’t called tonight so we just have to move on.”

Ja Morant

Melton: “I felt like almost ninety percent of people saw [Nikola] Jokić jump and swipe down. I don’t think he hit the ball because Ja [Morant] still got it up. He had to hit something else. It was a great play drawn up and Ja attacked the basket driving hard. It was a fifty-fifty call. It is what it is. We can’t let that stop our pride and ambition. We just have to keep attacking and just know that even though we fell short one time, it was against a pretty good team. We are going to just get better from here.”

Here’s a bit of good news:
Even in a loss, Ja Morant continues to shine.

Grizzlies Fall to Nuggets 103-102 (2)

Morant hit a ridiculous 42-foot buzzer-beater to close out the third quarter and somehow manages to make it look effortless.

Grizzlies Fall to Nuggets 103-102


Still going hard in the paint…

The Grizzlies had 46 points in the paint against Denver, and extended their streak to 82 games with at least 40 paint points, the longest such streak on record since the NBA began tracking play-by-play data in 1996-97. Memphis leads the league in paint points for the second season in a row.

By the Numbers:

Dillon Brooks and Brandon Clarke led the Grizzlies in scoring with 20 points apiece. Clarke is the only player from the Grizzlies bench who scored in double figures. Morant finished the night with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists, shooting 2 of 2 from beyond the arc. Jonas Valancuinas put up a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Rookie Desmond Bane was moved into the starting lineup and contributed 10 points and 4 rebounds.

Kyle Anderson struggled offensively and finished with only 2 points, a very uncharacteristic performance from him this season. 

De’Anthony Melton had 9 points and 6 assists, all coming from behind the three-point line, and Justise Winslow put up 5 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Who Got Next?

The Grizzlies are hitting the road for the next two games. Sunday they will face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder. This one has an early start, with tip-off at 1 PM