Grizzlies 94, Nuggets 92
Zach Randolph scored 20 points and hauled in 11 rebounds to help visiting Memphis end a two-game slide.
Mike Conley finished with 19 points - including a critical 3-pointer in the final minute - as the Grizzlies pulled even with Dallas and Phoenix at the back end of the Western Conference playoff race. Courtney Lee also had 19 points and Marc Gasol added 13.
Timofey Mozgov led Denver with a career high-tying 23 points while Kenneth Faried added 17. Randy Foye contributed 13 points and a season-high nine boards for the Nuggets, who clinched their first losing season since 2002-03.
The Grizzlies endured a scoring drought of nearly four minutes before Conley's basket put them up 84-80 with 5:21 to go, and Randolph's hook with 1:12 left kept it a four-point margin. After Conley drained his only triple to make it a five-point game with 35.8 seconds to go, Foye scored before Randolph missed two free throws but Mozgov's potential game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds left was off.
Memphis had a 20-5 spurt that bridged the first and second quarters and led by as many as 16 in the first half before settling for a 47-45 halftime lead. Randolph scored the final six points of the third quarter for the Grizzlies as they claimed a 75-68 advantage and Nick Calathes had back-to-back baskets to make it 82-75 with 9:15 left in the game.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Memphis finished 13-for-23 from the line and Denver went 14-for-24. ... Nuggets leading scorer G Ty Lawson was limited to eight points on 3-of-9 shooting. ... Denver had won 27 of the last 29 meetings at home.