Grizzlies at Nuggets
The Memphis Grizzlies just finished up a 5-1 homestand and hit the road for back-to-back games against sub-.500 teams. The Grizzlies will try to continue their march up the Western Conference standings when they visit the Denver Nuggets on Thursday.
Memphis began its last homestand with a 91-84 win over the Nuggets and secured all five wins by eight or fewer points, capped by Monday’s 101-99 triumph over New Orleans. “I think guys feel good,” Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger told reporters. “Guys don’t care if you’re beating good teams or teams that don’t have a great record. I think wins are wins. I think guys’ confidence is going up.” Denver is five games through an eight-game homestand and can already call it a success with wins over Charlotte, Golden State and Indiana. The Nuggets still needs two more wins to clinch a winning stand and came up short in a 110-104 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Memphis), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE GRIZZLIES (24-19): Memphis lost to the lone Western Conference playoff contender it faced during the homestand and sees room for improvement. “We still have a lot of room to cover and a lot of things to do better even though we’re winning,” center Marc Gasol told reporters after Monday’s win. “…I don’t think that we felt good about how we played. We obviously feel good about the win, but how we played, some stretches were slow. Stagnant offensively. It’s just not what we’re trying to do. Hopefully we’ll get it.” Gasol is picking up his own level of play and is averaging 23 points in the last four games.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (16-26): Denver coach Mike Malone put Tuesday’s loss on the team’s rebounding effort. “We are 0-14 on the season when we are outrebounded," Malone told reporters. "So that was the story of the night. Fourth quarter alone, (the Thunder) have 10 offensive rebounds for nine points. That had a large part to do with it." The Nuggets ended up surrendering 16 offensive boards while being outrebounded 52-48 on Monday, and they were outrebounded 42-37 in a loss to the Miami Heat on Friday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Grizzlies PG Mike Conley (Achilles) returned from a six-game absence on Monday and delivered 15 points and 10 assists in 27 minutes.
2. Nuggets F Danilo Gallinari has scored 20 or more points in eight of the last nine games.
3. Memphis has taken three straight and five of the last six in the series.