Ja Morant, Grizzlies beat Nuggets in matchup of West leaders

MEMPHIS,Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant had 23 points and seven rebounds as theMemphis Grizzlies raced to an early lead and coasted to a 112-94victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night in a matchup ofthe Western Conference’s top teams.

Tyus Jonesfinished with 17 points, and Luke Kennard, Xavier Tillman andDillon Brooks scored 12 apiece for Memphis, which trails Denver bysix games in the conference race.

Nikola Jokicled the Nuggets with 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Jeff Greenadded 12 points. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Christian Braun eachscored 11 points as Denver’s four-game winning streak came to anend. Denver was hampered by a 40% shooting game. The Nuggets’starters were 17 of 47 from the field in the game.

Denver’s 94total points was a season low.

“One of thebiggest priorities was transition defense,” Memphis coach TaylorJenkins said. “I thought our urgency was phenomenal.”

The matchupof the West leaders had Denver entering while playing well andMemphis struggling, dropping six of its last 10 games and losingits grip on the second spot as the Sacramento Kings rose tothird.

But Memphiscame out with more intensity and defensive pressure, a continuationof the Grizzlies first post-All-Star break game — a last-minuteloss at Philadelphia.

“They justplayed more physical than us,” Green said. “They treated it like aplayoff game. We didn’t. We came out lackadaisical. They got a goodlead, and we couldn’t bounce back.”

Nuggets coachMichael Malone added: “I felt like going into this game that (theGrizzlies) were going to approach this as a playoff game. Weapproached it as a game 61 or 62.”

The Grizzliesfinished with 19 fast-break points and 60 points in the paint.

“They ran offmisses. They ran off makes. They were sprinting. We just didn’tmatch that,” Malone said.

Memphisconverted 56% of its shots in the first half and was 9 of 21 formoutside the arc. Meanwhile, the Nuggets offense struggled, shooting38% from the field and making only 3 of 16 3-pointers. Tenturnovers added to the Nuggets’ misery.

Memphis ledby as many as 29 points in the first half and carried a 66-42advantage at the break.

Memphisopened the second half with eight straight points, pushing the leadto 32 points. That catapulted the Grizzlies to a 94-62 advantagethrough three quarters. At that point, Memphis was still shootingbetter than 53%.

With Denverfacing the second half of a back-to-back Sunday, Malone sat hisstarters in the fourth quarter.

The win gaveMemphis a two-game cushion over third-place Sacramento after theKings’ 176-175 win over the Clippers in double-overtime Fridaynight. But despite the rout of the Nuggets, Memphis didn’t considerthe win a statement game.

“I think it’stoo early to say,” Jones said. “It’s a good win. They’re a goodteam, but it’s also one game. Don’t try to look too much intoit.”

TIP-INS

Nuggets:Denver’s 42 points were a season low for the first half. Theprevious low was 43 against Minnesota on Feb. 5 ... The Nuggetsdefeated the Grizzlies 105-91 on Dec. 20 in Denver. The three-gameseason series wraps up March 3 in Denver.

Grizzlies:Tillman made all six of his shots in the game. ... C Steven Adamsmissed his 13th straight game with a right knee sprain. ...DesmondBane had 10 points but was 4 of 13 from the field.

TAKESYOUR BREATH AWAY

Morant hadone of his highlight layups after a scramble for the ball atmidcourt,. After he scored, he expressed his excitement. “I kind ofyelled,” Morant said, “and got light-headed. So I probably won’t dothat again.”

UPNEXT

Nuggets: Hostthe Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.

Grizzlies:Entertain the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.