Denver Nuggets (52-28) beat Memphis Grizzlies (25-55) 136-119 at home on Wednesday, April 8 in a shootout, with the two teams combining for 255 points.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Nuggets struck first, taking the opening quarter 37-33 and a 4-point lead after one. The Grizzlies moved in front with a 39-31 second quarter, carrying a 4-point lead into halftime.
The Nuggets won the third 39-22 to turn the game around, taking a 13-point lead into the fourth. The Nuggets took the fourth 29-25; the Nuggets finished the job for a 136-119 regulation win.
What decided it
The Nuggets got more from their shots, finishing at 66.7% effective field-goal shooting compared with 56% for the Grizzlies. The Nuggets grabbed 24.3% of their own misses, while the Grizzlies recovered 18.9%. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Grizzlies did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 6.1 against 11.7. The Nuggets made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 100 possessions per team, the Nuggets produced 135.8 points per 100 possessions to 118.8 for the Grizzlies.
Who made the difference
Nikola Jokic was the game's biggest individual force for DEN: 14 pts, 16 reb, 10 ast on 5-8 shooting. His Game Score of 23.4 led everyone. His team was +24 with him on the floor.
Cedric Coward led the Grizzlies with 27 pts, 6 reb, 2 ast on 10-17 shooting, good for a 22.5 Game Score.
Nikola Jokic (14 pts, 16 reb, 10 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Nuggets about a 92% chance.
Across the last 6 meetings in our records, Denver Nuggets lead 4-2.
The Nuggets are now 52-28, and the Grizzlies are 25-55. The Nuggets last five before this game: W-W-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.