Jamal Murray scored 27 points, Michael Porter Jr. added 24 points and 11 rebounds and Russell Westbrook posted the 200th triple-double of his career to lead the visiting Denver Nuggets to a 122-110 NBA Cup victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.
Westbrook came off the bench to contribute 12 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds. He is the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles.
The Nuggets, playing their third straight game without three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, snapped a two-game losing streak and gave coach Michael Malone his 432nd win to tie Doug Moe for the most in franchise history. Jokic is out because of personal reasons.
The Grizzlies were playing the second of their four Group Play games in the NBA Cup. They were led by Santi Aldama, who tied a career high with 28 points and added 11 rebounds. Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 19 and Scotty Pippen Jr. had 16 for the Grizzlies, who shot 39.8 percent. Memphis has yet to win a Cup game in two seasons.
Ahead by 11 at halftime, the Nuggets pushed their lead to 25 points midway through the third quarter with a 17-4 run. The Grizzlies rallied late, with consecutive layups by Desmond Bane and Pippen cutting Denver’s advantage to five (115-110) with 1:47 to go.
Memphis played without rookie center Zach Edey, the team’s 7-foor-4 first-round pick out of Purdue. Edey injured his ankle Sunday against Denver.
The Grizzlies lost Vince Williams to a right ankle sprain late in the second quarter. Williams was injured underneath the Memphis basket attempting to grab an offensive board. Marcus Smart missed his second consecutive game with an illness.
Ja Morant, the Grizzlies’ two-time All-Star guard, was sidelined for the sixth straight game with a hip injury he suffered earlier this month against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Denver lost Vlatko Cancar late in the second quarter to a left knee injury.
The Nuggets shot 54.2 percent in the first half and took a 68-57 lead into the break.
The Grizzlies were slowed by sloppy play and poor shooting in the half. They committed 14 turnovers and shot 42.6 percent, including 25 percent (4 of 16) from beyond the 3-point arc.
Porter scored 18 points in the half and didn’t miss any of the nine shots he attempted inside the arc.
–Field Level Media