Postgame Report: Morant’s overtime heroics not enough to beat Jokic, Nuggets in double-OT thriller
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Key Stat of the Night
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Game Recap
Nikola Jokic’s 47 points pushed the Denver Nuggets past the Memphis Grizzlies in a 139-137 overtime thriller on Monday night.
Jokic delivered a dominant performance with 15 rebounds and eight assists to go with his 47 points while Will Barton served as a Jamal Murray understudy with 28 points, seven assists and six rebounds. Michael Porter Jr. added 21 points and seven rebounds.
Ja Morant recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 36 points and 12 assists while grabbing eight rebounds. Xavier Tillman capitalized on his call up to the starting lineup with 18-point, 14-rebound double-double, the first of his career. Grayson Allen added 24 points and De’Anthony Melton returned to action with 25 points, eight rebounds and six assists off the bench.
With all focus on MVP candidate Jokic, it was Barton that had the Nuggets rolling early with 13 quick points in the first quarter. The Grizzlies answered with their own 20-8 run behind Melton’s 14 points to go up 35-27 at the end of the quarter.
The Grizzlies held control throughout the first half, taking a 60-56 lead into halftime.
Melton led the team with 19 points, the most any Grizzlies player has scored before halftime this season. Jokic paced the Nuggets with 16 points and six rebounds. The Nuggets had 14 turnovers which led to 25 points for the Grizzlies.
Allen poured in 10 points in the third quarter to leave the Grizzlies with a 95-87 lead heading into the final quarter, where they endured a late fourth quarter scoring push from the Nuggets. Jokic led a 14-2 run to force overtime as the Grizzlies scored only two points in the final 4:21 of regulation.
Morant scored nine points in the first overtime to give the Grizzlies an advantage, but a late triple from Barton forced a second overtime period, where Jokic answered to close out the game for the Nuggets.
Next Game
The Grizzlies travel to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers on Friday at 9 p.m. CT. Fans can watch the game on Bally Sports Southeast or listen to the call on 92.9 FM ESPN.
Team Quotes
On the loss:
Yeah, I mean, great resiliency. I loved our guys’ fight. [It] came down to the very end, but our guys were phenomenal. It was a back-and-forth game. Give the Nuggets credit, they played phenomenal. [Nikola] Jokic was phenomenal. A lot of guys played well for them, but I look at our group and we had tons of guys play well and step up. So, great learning experience today.
Taylor Jenkins
On his team’s ability to execute down the stretch:
Yeah, we had our chances, we’ve just got to be better. They made some great plays. I’ve got to be better; we’ve all got to be better. It just came down to a couple possessions. We’ll go back and watch the film and find out ways to get better.
Taylor Jenkins
On how he felt returning from injury:
It felt great, honestly. It felt great to be back out there with my teammates, feeling that energy. I couldn’t wait to get back, but I just wanted to make sure my rehab process was good. Especially dealing with something like that with your knee. I’m worried about the next ten years sometimes, not the next ten days. So, I felt great out there tonight, and felt like I was ready. You always got to stay ready.
De’Anthony Melton
On what the Nuggets did to win the game:
They just played great team basketball. [Nikola] Jokic is a great player, but I mean Will Barton contributed, Michael Porter [Jr.] hit tough shots. I mean they played well, but that’s one of those games we should definitely close out. You know, it’s going to sting a little bit. It’s cool, we live and learn from stuff like this. But we know we could definitely beat that team, so I think we all got to be better here.
De’Anthony Melton
On the loss:
It’s the same thing we’ve been preaching all season. We have that next man up mentality, and everybody is ready when their number is called. We can’t control injuries, who plays or not, we’ve just got to go out there with what we have and play our same type of basketball. Tonight, we did that, even though we came up short.
Ja Morant
On the final possession of regulation:
I think it doesn’t matter on the personnel, like who’s been playing good or not. If three guys run at me and I have an open teammate in that corner, I’m passing him the ball for a wide-open shot instead of me; you know I am not trying to shoot over a triple team. Whatever they run at me, I don’t care if the guy is 0-20 or 9-9, I’m passing it. I’ve got every bit of trust in that guy being able to make that shot.
Ja Morant
Player Notes
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