National Basketball Association
Denver 120, Memphis 96
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, April 26, 2021
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Officials:
#65 Nate Green, #42 Eric Lewis, #40 Leon Wood
Attendance:
3823
By Field Level Media
Nikola Jokic had 24 points and 15 rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. scored 31 points, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Memphis Grizzlies 120-96 on Monday night.
Aaron Gordon scored 15 points and Paul Millsap had 12 off the bench for the Nuggets (40-21). Denver swept the three-game season series with the Grizzlies.
Ja Morant scored 27 points, Jonas Valanciunas finished with 13 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. had 10 off the bench for Memphis. The Grizzlies finished their 11-day, seven-game road trip 4-3.
Memphis (31-29) cut a five-point halftime deficit to 64-63 on a bucket by Kyle Anderson early in the third, but the Nuggets responded with an 11-2 run, highlighted by Facu Campazzo's no-look pass to Porter for a 3-pointer at the top of the arc.
The Grizzlies scored the next six points to get back within four, but a three-point play by Shaquille Harrison and a layup by PJ Dozier put the Nuggets ahead 85-75 entering the fourth.
Denver started to pull away in the fourth quarter.
After Desmond Bane made the first shot of the period, Millsap and Dozier took over. Millsap hit a floater, a 3-pointer and a layup while Dozier converted a three-point play and drained an 18-footer during a 12-0 Nuggets run.
Morant broke the drought with a free throw, and his reverse layup cut the deficit to 101-84 with 6:34 left. Denver went up by 20 on a dunk by Porter, and after Bane and Jackson made free throws, Porter hit a layup, and Jokic's baseball pass to Austin Rivers led to another layup and a 109-87 lead with 4:33 left.
After a low-scoring first quarter, both teams got hot in the second. Memphis was 12-for-18 shooting in the period and the Nuggets did their damage from deep, going 7-for-13 on 3-point attempts.
The Grizzlies led 37-36 midway through the second quarter but two 3-pointers from Gordon and another by Jokic put Denver ahead by six. The Nuggets were able to hold onto a 58-53 lead at halftime.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Memphis |
|
Denver |
Ja Morant 27 |
Scoring |
Michael Porter Jr. 31 |
Ja Morant 6 |
Assists |
Facundo Campazzo 7 |
Kyle Anderson 7 |
Rebounds |
Nikola Jokic 15 |
Ja Morant 7 |
Free Throws Made |
Nikola Jokic 10 |
Brandon Clarke 2 |
Steals |
Facundo Campazzo 2 |
Brandon Clarke 3 |
Blocks |
PJ Dozier 1 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Memphis
|
96 |
42.0 |
4-32 |
24-31 |
20 |
45 |
6 |
8 |
16 |
Denver
|
120 |
47.9 |
11-33 |
19-22 |
25 |
48 |
3 |
8 |
11 |
Upcoming Games
-
Denver will play their next game at home against New Orleans. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .714 after a loss.
-
Memphis will play their next game at home against Portland. The Grizzlies have a W/L % of .484 after a win and .552 after a loss.