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 The Nuggets held the lead with 5:54 remaining when Danilo Gallinari
(29 points, eight rebounds) made two free throws to put them up
76-74 but the Grizzlies (20-18) closed with a 17-8 run.
"They killed us in the fourth quarter," said Denver forward Darrell
Arthur.
Eight different Nuggets had at least five rebounds but none as many
as 10. And despite the rebounding advantage, the Grizzlies and
Randolph were more physical.
"You know they'll hold you, punch you, whatever it is, and you gotta
respect that about them," Denver coach Michael Malone said. "Playing
against Zach Randolph, that's a great learning experience -- big,
strong ... we gotta get comfortable with being uncomfortable."
The second quarter was anything but comfortable as Memphis held
Denver to seven points on three-of-21 shooting from the field (14.3
percent).
The Nuggets made six of their 17 turnovers in the second quarter and
that flipped a one-point Denver lead after the first quarter to a
49-37 Grizzlies lead at halftime.
"I loved the fact that we were down by 12 at halftime and our
energy, our effort, our focus to start the third quarter was great,"
Malone said.
The Nuggets erased a 12-point halftime deficit and led by four late
in the third quarter before Memphis closed with a 5-0 spurt to carry
a 67-66 lead into the fourth.
Denver's only lead of the fourth quarter lasted just 32 seconds when
Randolph's putback tied the score at 76 with 5:22 to play.
The Nuggets hung in there and were down 82-78 with 2:30 left when
Randolph rejected a layup attempt by Jusuf Nurkic. It was Randolph's
third block of the night.
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"Got that old grit and grind feeling back," Randolph said.
Also helping the Grizzlies was Jeff Green, who had 16 points and
nine rebounds, and Matt Barnes, who finished with 15 points, seven
rebounds and three assists.
The Grizzlies' Marc Gasol had 12 points with five steals and Mario
Chalmers played 40 minutes and contributed 12 points, six rebounds,
four assists and four turnovers.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Chalmers also mixed things up with 7-foot,
280-pound Nurkic after Randolph's block and Chalmers and Nurkic each
got a technical.
"Mario, he's not gonna back down," Randolph said. "He fits in well."
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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