It was de ja vu for the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night. Once again they were without Nikola Jokic and once again they were facing the Memphis Grizzlies in Memphis. It was an NBA Cup game though so at least the court was different. The energy from Denver was also quite different and they were able to open a lead early behind the play of Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray. That helped the Nuggets build a big lead but the Grizzlies battled their way back to make it closer than it should have been in the end of the game. In the end Denver was able to hold on and survive to pick up a win on the road trip and their first NBA Cup victory of the season.

The Nuggets had energy to start the game and shared the ball while the Grizzlies were ice cold from the field. Denver built a small lead but had some turnovers to keep them from getting a stranglehold early. Just before the midway point of the quarter, Michael Malone threw in a wrinkle and inserted Trey Alexander into the game. Porter Jr. provided offense through the meat of the quarter to maintain a couple possession lead over Memphis. Denver’s defense was very good in the first and they started to string together some baskets to grow the lead with the quarter winding down. The bench plus Watson was in to close out the first though and they struggled to score. With the lead shrinking, Malone put Porter and Christian Braun back in for the final two minutes and they rewarded his decision. Braun scored six points in his last shift of the quarter and Porter chipped in with a transition dunk. After one the Nuggets led 31-24.

The Nuggets bench was solid to start the second quarter but they missed some free throws and a wide open three which kept them from breaking the game open. The Grizzlies started to get some momentum but Jake LaRavia was met at the mountain top on a dunk attempt by Julian Strawther and Straw ended up with a highlight block. To add injury to insult, Jaren Jackson Jr. landed on LaRavia and appeared to tweak his ankle. He stayed in the game but was frustrated and quickly got into foul trouble. The Nuggets offense was hit or miss but their defense was on point and so they led by double digits at the six minute mark. Vlatko Cancar was playing well and had a a big transition dunk but unfortunately came down awkwardly and grabbed for his knee. He immediately went back to the locker room. The Nuggets finished the half small with the starters but Russell Westbrook instead of Dario Saric and Memphis rallied against that group. DeAndre Jordan come in for the final minute, Murray and Porter restored order and the Nuggets went to half leading 68-57.

Denver knocked down some threes early while the Grizzlies struggled to score but Saric quickly got himself into foul trouble as the refs whistle got heavy. Consistently through the night when the Nuggets started to stall out Porter was there. With the refs getting a bit under Denver’s skin he calmed things down with an and-one which put them up nineteen. Memphis started coming apart at the seams with the Nuggets being relentless on defense and attacking the basket. Halfway through the quarter the lead was twenty-five. Memphis found some life as things progressed and the Nuggets energy started to wane a bit with the big lead. It got pretty sloppy down the stretch while the Grizzlies chipped away. Westbrook got issued a technical for looking at a guy the wrong way (not joking) which capped off a 17-7 run from Memphis and cut Denver’s lead to 92-77 at the end of the third quarter.

The Grizzlies kept coming to open the fourth quarter and continued to get the benefit of the whistle as Denver’s lead dipped into single digits. It was Murray’s turn to come to the rescue and he started knocking down jumpers, including a pair of threes. Memphis wasn’t going away quietly though. They kept getting second chances on offense and cashing in threes. Santi Aldama was using his size to get baskets while the Grizzlies were denying Murray the ball. The Grizzlies started running out of time though. Braun had a nice sequence with a putback layup and then a steal and transition layup to keep Denver’s lead in double digits with under four minutes. Still, the Grizzlies kept coming and got it back under double-digits with two minutes to go with Denver continuing to give them second chance opportunities. The Nuggets couldn’t buy a bucket but needed just one up five with under a minute to go when Saric finally delivered. They’d ice out the game at the free throw line and escape Memphis with a 122-110 victory.

Good response from Porter and Murray

The critics were loud for Denver’s two stars after their last game against Memphis. Without Jokic and Aaron Gordon the Nuggets have to have ultra aggressive Murray and Porter and they got that for the most part tonight. Porter wasn’t knocking down threes but he looked often to find easy baskets in the paint and consistently gave Denver offense when they needed it. Murray meanwhile finally started to find his shot in this game and it was desperately needed, no more so than in the fourth quarter as the Grizzlies mounted their rally. Both guys looked a little tired at the end of the game and you’d like to see a stronger close from both but it was still marked improvement from the previous contest.

Just hope for the best for Vlatko

Nov 19, 2024; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Vlatko Cancar (31) grabs his knee during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Cancar’s injury did not look good. It wasn’t that it was some gruesome looking injury or that someone flew into his knee or anything like that, but it was bad in that it was non-contact and looked exactly like how he hurt his knee last time. Immediately after he signaled to the bench that he was ok but he was noticeably limping and did not return to the game. I’m hoping Denver is just being extra precautious which would make 100% sense given Vlatko’s past knee troubles.

Glad to be headed home

Look, that was an ugly road trip and even with the Nuggets getting the victory tonight it wasn’t exactly pretty. Bottom line though, you don’t get swept on a three game roadie without Nikola and you steal a road win in a Cup game. It wasn’t great, but it’s fine. Hopefully Nikola rejoins the team when they get back to Denver and then maybe Gordon won’t be far behind that. Breathe deep Nuggets Nation, it’s going to be ok.