Mike Conley, Memphis grit their teeth, grind past Nuggets

DENVER – The Denver came into their matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies looking to continue winning at home and continue to build their lead for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Instead, they missed out on a chance to steal a statement win over the Grizzlies and left Pepsi Center with a 105-98 loss.

In the first quarter, it was apparent that Denver was doing what they could to get Nikola Jokic involved in the offense. Jokic was getting the ball in the high post and was doing a great job of pushing the ball in transition himself while looking for teammates. Michal Malone even went as far as to set a pin-down screen to get Jokic some space to take a jump-shot in the corner, which he nailed. Overall Jokic had one of his better quarters in the past few games and put up four points, six rebounds, and two assists in the first frame. Denver went into the second quarter down 22-19 as Marc Gasol and Mike Conley carried the Grizzlies.

“(Conley) and Gasol I think probably are, in the NBA, the best point guard and center combo in the league and they proved it again tonight,” Malone said after the loss.

Towards the end of the first quarter, it was the Nuggets’ bench unit that ended up losing the lead. Once the second quarter began it was Jamal Murray who began forcing the issue and got the Nuggets back on track after scoring four of Denver’s first six points in the quarter.

“He goes 5-9 from the field, gets four rebounds, and I liked Jamal tonight. I really did,” Malone said. “I thought he was aggressive, he was getting to the basket, finished around the basket, and was guarding an All-NBA type point guard in Mike Conley at times so it was a great learning experience. ”

Gary Harris continued his inspired play and had himself a solid first half of basketball. He was scoring in transition, hitting three-pointers and continued as the ideal complement player to the Nuggets current offensive scheme. He highlighted his first half with a vicious one-handed poster dunk on top of Zach Randolph.

Gary Harris down the lane!! pic.twitter.com/6cvWToFKYB

— Michael Gallagher (@MikeSGallagher) February 26, 2017

Harris finished the first half with 12 points and shot 2-3 from beyond the three-point line. Denver went into halftime down just three points 50-47 as Gallinari posted 12 first half points of his own. He ended up finishing with 24 points, four rebounds, and one assist in the game.

The third quarter started with Denver going on a 15-6 run but eventually, the Grizzlies clawed their way back into the game behind the consistent play of Gasol and the Nuggets deficit ballooned to six. The Nuggets and Grizzlies traded buckets and eventually, Murray hit a three at the end of the third as Denver and Memphis went into the fourth tied at 68.

To start the fourth quarter, the Nuggets had to rely on their bench unit to keep the game close. Murray, Mason Plumlee, and Harris did their job and as the starters returned the game, Memphis’ total was still in reach. Murray, who finished with 11 points four rebounds, and one assist, did a solid job of keeping the bench unit above water and played admirable defense on Conley.

“What I really liked about Jamal was that he was aggressive,” Malone said. “He was playing downhill and was getting to the basket. He ahs a pretty good ability to finish around the basket with either hand, especially with his left hand. Bouncing back after two poor games, I thought tonight he bounced back in the right direction. He was not being passive out there. I don’t want him to be passive.”

As Jokic, who finished with just 10 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, returned from the bench, Denver found themselves down by seven. Conley, who finished with 31 points on 16 shots, four rebounds, and five assists, did his best to end the Nuggets early in the fourth but Denver continued to fight back and kept the game within single digits.

“I thought (Nikola) was solid. If you look at his numbers; ten points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. I thought he rebounded the ball very well,” Malone said. He missed a couple shots that he normally makes but I am not expecting Nikola to get 20 points, 15 rebounds, and ten assists every night. I think maybe some people are which seems a little unfair to such a young player but I thought Nikola was solid, especially playing against a very big and physical front line.”

While the game was close all night, the Nuggets could not overcome Gasol, who finished with 23 points, five rebounds, and six assists, and the lights-out shooting of Conley. Denver lost just their third home game in their past 12 tries.

“I don’t think he has made an All-Star team but I think in the eyes of all NBA head coaches he is an All-Star. He is that good,” Malone said of Conley. “He is always under control, he runs this team, and he makes the right play. He crushed us in the first half when he hit four threes. ”

Postgame Video

Quote of the game

“They have a style of play; the grit and grind mentality. They’ve had it with Lionel Hollins, with Dave Joerger, and now with David Fitzdale,” Malone said. “They do a very good job of implementing their toughness into the game and their style of play and that is why they are in the middle of the playoff race. They are a good team and they are well-coached.”

Footnotes

Kenneth Faried missed the matchup with the Grizzlies after leaving the Nuggets victory over the Nets with back spasms. Chandler started in his place and finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.

What’s next

The Nuggets head out on the road to take on the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night at the United Center.