Jamal Murray scored 29 points, Peyton Watson chipped in 27 and Nikola Jokic added 17 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds as the visiting Denver Nuggets beat the Memphis Grizzlies 125-115 on Monday.
The Nuggets made a season-high 22 3-pointers (22-for-43, 51.2%) to withstand a fourth-quarter rally by the Grizzlies. Memphis trailed 108-91 early in the quarter following a four-point play by Cam Johnson, but cut the lead to five after a 12-0 run.
Denver closed strong with two 3-pointers by Murray in the final four minutes and went up 121-112 after a Jokic behind-the-back bounce pass to Watson for an uncontested layup. Murray hit six 3-pointers and Watson added a career-high five from long range.
Jock Landale paced the Grizzlies with a career-high-tying 26 points and added 10 rebounds off the bench. Jaylen Wells dropped in a season-high 22 points and Cam Spencer scored 18.
Denver never trailed after grabbing a 20-18 lead in the first quarter following a three-point play by Jokic. The Nuggets expanded their advantage to 13 on several occasions in the second quarter and were up 62-54 at the half.
Memphis rallied in the third, trimming the deficit to 88-85 on a reverse layup by Santi Aldama, but the Nuggets scored five points in the final 12.7 seconds, including a logo 3-pointer by Jokic at the buzzer for a 93-85 lead. Jokic leads the NBA this season with 10 triple-doubles.
Memphis lost big man Zach Edey to a head injury in the first half. Edey, in his fifth game back from offseason ankle surgery, played only six minutes and scored two points. He had been instrumental as the team won the previous two games, but he appeared to take a slight elbow to the head from Jokic in the first quarter.
Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. returned from an ankle injury that sidelined him for two games. He finished with 16 points.
Denver played without Aaron Gordon, who sustained a right hamstring strain on Friday against the Houston Rockets and will be re-evaluated in four to six weeks. Among the NBA’s top role players, Gordon is averaging a career-best 18.8 points.
–Field Level Media
