Denver Nuggets Falter Late, Fall to Grizzlies, 91-84

The Denver Nuggets kept the game close in the fourth quarter, but ultimately were unable to grind out a win in Memphis, falling to the Grizzlies by a final score of 91-84.

Danilo Gallinari led the way for the Denver Nuggets with 29 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Gallinari’s 29 points led all scorers on Friday night. Darrell Arthur, getting the start at power forward, chipped in with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Gary Harris added 11 points on 4-9 shooting in 31 minutes.

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The Denver Nuggets and the Memphis Grizzlies played a tightly contested first quarter, trading baskets until the visitors got out to an 8-point lead with 1:53 left with a Joffrey Lauvergne dunk, making the score 28-20. Memphis fought back, going on a 9-2 run to finish out the first, making the score 30-29 in favor of the Nuggets at the end of 1 quarter.

The second quarter in Friday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies was perhaps the worst quarter of basketball played by the Denver Nuggets all season — even worse than the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s win at Minnesota. The Denver Nuggets scored a grand total of 7 points in the entire period, while the Grizzlies scored 20. Both teams traded baskets for the majority of the period, with the Grizzlies holding only a 39-37 lead with 4:20 to go. Then Memphis went on a 10-0 run from that point, entering the halftime break with a 12-point lead at 49-37.

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The Denver Nuggets righted the ship in the third quarter, rallying from what was at one time a 13-point deficit at 52-39 with 10:37 left to go in the third. The visitors went on a 17-3 run over the next 6 minutes to actually take the lead with 4:24 left at 56-55 off of a Gary Harris basket. The Nuggets and the Grizzlies traded baskets for the remainder of the quarter, with a Zach Randolph basket with 22 seconds left in the period giving Memphis a 1-point lead heading into the final quarter of play.

The Denver Nuggets played a hard fought fourth quarter, only regaining the lead once and giving themselves a great opportunity to win a game in a tough road environment. Two Danilo Gallinari free-throws with 5:54 left gave Denver a short-lived 76-74 lead, which was quickly erased by Zach Randolph layup, after the Memphis forward secured an offensive rebound off a long Mario Chalmers three-point attempt.

The Nuggets and the Grizzlies were tied as late as 4:43 left in the period, but a Matt Barnes jumpshot gave the Grizzlies a lead they would not relinquish at 78-76. A Zach Randolph jumper a minute later gave Memphis a 4-point lead at 80-76 with a little over 3 minutes remaining. The Denver Nuggets would narrow the gap as Darrell Arthur made a basket with 3:17 left to make the score 80-78. Another Zach Randolph score with 2:46 left brought the deficit back up to 4-points at 82-78.