O.J. Mayo’s 22 helps Memphis Grizzlies edge out Denver Nuggets 94 – 91 – NBA Recap
The Memphis Grizzlies walked out of the Pepsi Center with a narrow win over the Denver Nuggets, 94 – 91, on Sunday. The Grizzlies and Nuggets fought well throughout the game but at the end it was the visitors who made some big plays and snatched an important
victory.
O.J. Mayo came off the bench for the Grizzlies and turned out to be their most important player on the night. Mayo scored 22 points, the game high, and also had 8 assists, also game high, in an all action display that propelled Memphis past the home side.
"I definitely did have it going," said Mayo,. "So mad, had so many turnovers. I know how important it is to take care of the ball when you're playing the one (position) and I failed in that area. I'm happy it didn't cause us to lose."
Only one Memphis player failed to score on the night, but just 4 made it into double-digits. Established starters Rudy g*y and Marc Gasol struggled throughout and needed the bench players to come to their rescue.
The story wasn’t all that different with Denver, apart from the fact that they lacked an impact bench player like Mayo. Danilo Gallinari, the most potent weapon in Denver’s arsenal, went scoreless on the night.
Centre Nene scored 15 points and had 9 rebounds, while Al Harrington and Corey Brewer both came off the bench for 15 points each. Andre Miller had 14 points and 7 assists.
Denver streaked off from the opening jump, a 10 – 2 burst putting them in an advantageous position. Memphis immediately responded though, with a 7 – 0 burst. The Nuggets would widen the gap again, this time to 17 – 11, but the Grizzlies recovered an ended
the first quarter just behind at 25 – 23.
The second period was a real thrill for the fans as both sides played good basketball, attacking each other with gusto and neither backing down. The teams exchanged blows throughout, but the scores mostly remained close and the first half ended with Denver
ahead at 53 – 50.
After the break Memphis looked more aggressive. They took the game to Denver in the third segment and used a number of little runs to erode away the deficit, even taking the lead as the quarter progressed. At the end, they were up at 73 – 70.
The final 12 minutes were extremely tight and the match went right down to the wire. With the score 91 – 89, Mayo stepped up with a clutch 3-pointer, taking Memphis’ advantage to 94 – 89. The Nuggets didn’t have time to recover and bowed out at 94 – 91.
Tags: