Memphis: Denver snapped the Memphis Grizzlies’ eight-game winning streak with a 97-92 victory over the NBA’s hottest team yesterday.
In a battle that raged from start to finish, home team Memphis led 92-88 with about two minutes remaining but failed to close the game out, going scoreless and making critical mistakes in the final moments.
“We got what we deserved,” the Grizzlies’ Marc Gasol told reporters. “The last game we didn’t play that well, but the other team wasn’t as talented as (Denver). When you play with fire, sometimes you get burned.”
Momentum switched back and forth the whole game as the Grizzlies went up by five in the third quarter on the back of a 14-4 run, before Denver returned the favor with an 8-0 stretch that put them ahead 77-70 early in the fourth.
The Nuggets outrebounded Memphis 47-33, with Kenneth Faried grabbing 13 to go with his 13 points.
Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari made three free throws and, after JaVale McGee put visiting Denver on top 93-92, he drained a three-pointer in the last seconds to seal the win.
Gallinari finished with a game-high 26 points, McGee added 15 and eight rebounds off the bench as the Nuggets (5-6) brought a run of three straight defeats to an end.
“This is the first game on the road where I think we executed at a high level,” said Denver coach George Karl. “We’ve got to get better at making shots and I think we will once we win games, and I think confidence comes by winning.”
After losing their season opener, Memphis (8-2) had run through their competition until facing Denver.
Rudy Gay led the way for the Grizzles with 22 points, while Zach Randolph put up 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Memphis coughed up two straight turnovers in the final minute, and kept putting Denver on the foul line as the game slipped away.
Despite the loss, the Grizzlies stayed a half-game ahead of San Antonio for the Southwest Division lead after the Spurs lost to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Meanwhile, Memphis Grizzlies forward Randolph has been fined $25,000 for “confronting” Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kendrick Perkins following their ejections from a game last week, the National Basketball Association said yesterday.
The players were hit with technical fouls and ejected last Wednesday after a verbal altercation with 2:05 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Grizzlies’ 107-97 win in Oklahoma City.
Former All-Star Randolph, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds in the game, then challenged Perkins near the locker room, the NBA said.
According to local reporters, Randolph and Perkins had to be separated by other players following a second altercation in a hallway near the locker rooms.
Elsewhere, the comeback by former Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy hit a snag yesterday when the Minnesota Timberwolves guard had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee.
Roy was expected to miss about a month. He had been sidelined due to discomfort with his knee.
“I think he feels like it’s worth doing,” coach Rick Adelman said. “Making sure everything’s all right, so you have to just go with it and hopefully when it’s over with he’ll be able to come back.”
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