Jamal Murray scored 30 points and set up eight assists as the Denver Nuggets held off the Memphis Grizzlies 123-118 on Wednesday at FedExForum, improving to 6-4 on the season. Nikola Jokic added 27 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.
Denver built the win on a dominant first quarter, outscoring Memphis 35-24 and leading by as many as 18 points. The Grizzlies cut into the deficit in the second half but never caught up, falling to 7-4. Ty Jerome led Memphis with 22 points and five assists.
Takeaways From Denver’s Win Over Memphis
A fast start set the tone
Denver opened with an early lead and pushed it to 30-16 late in the first quarter, built on back-to-back buckets from Jokic and DeMar DeRozan. The 35-point first quarter set the tone. Denver shot 50% from the field for the game.
Memphis couldn’t solve the turnover problem
The Grizzlies committed 12 total turnovers that Denver converted into 15 points, a gap that proved too wide to overcome given how close the final score finished. Denver’s own ball security, just six total turnovers, let the Nuggets control tempo even as Memphis shot a hot 41% from three-point range.
Denver’s depth answered Memphis’ bench scoring
Cameron Johnson scored 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including four three-pointers, to give Denver a second scoring option behind Murray and Jokic.
Player Of The Game: Jamal Murray
Murray finished with 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting, four three-pointers and eight assists in 32 minutes, posting a team-best plus-11 rating.
Denver Vs Memphis By The Numbers
Denver shot 50% from the field compared to 47% for Memphis, while the Grizzlies actually out-rebounded the Nuggets 41-37. Denver dominated the paint, scoring 54 points there to Memphis’ 40, and held a decisive edge in points off turnovers, 15-2 in the Nuggets’ favor. Memphis shot better from three-point range, 41% to Denver’s 37%, and from the free-throw line, converting 19 of 21 attempts compared to Denver’s 11-of-16 mark. The Nuggets also blocked 11 shots to Memphis’ four.
What It Means
Denver improved to 6-4, sitting 1.5 games behind Minnesota and Oklahoma City in the Northwest Division. Memphis fell to 7-4, now 2.5 games back of Southwest leader San Antonio.
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