The two All-Stars statistically led the Nuggets to a win in their final game before the break, but there might’ve been a bad taste in Nikola Jokic’s and Jamal Murray’s mouths without a couple of less-heralded players.
“The guy tonight that should be talked about is Christian Braun,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said after his team’s 122-116 win over the Grizzlies on Wednesday at Ball Arena. “He was amazing tonight. I played him almost 40 minutes. He guarded everybody, getting through pick and rolls, running the court.”
Braun scored in double figures for a third consecutive game, finishing with 14 points on eight shots to go with seven rebounds and six assists. It didn’t quite compare to Jokic’s 26 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists or Murray’s 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds as far as box score contributions go, but Braun’s plus-12 was better than both of his All-Star teammates.
“It’s cool for two of our guys to go. It says a lot about what our season has been,” Adelman said. “I really mean this — those guys go, and they represent these other players, what these players did for them during the first half of the season to get us to where we’re at, to put us in a position to be part of the conversation.”
Tim Hardaway Jr., who finished with 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting and 4 of 5 from 3-point range also got a shoutout from his coach. Hardaway hit a clutch 3 that broke a tie in the final four minutes less than 30 seconds after reentering the game.
“He had literally just came in the game. That is not an easy shot to make in the fourth quarter of a game,” Adelman said. “That’s a veteran just stepping up, knowing what it takes just to find a way to get to the finish line and win a game.”
Despite the contributions from two All-Stars and Denver’s starting and back-up shooting guards, the win wasn’t exactly pretty against a severely shorthanded Grizzlies team that was without Ja Morant, Zach Edey and a handful of other rotation players. The Nuggets gave up 35 points in the fourth quarter to make things interesting.
“Definitely, the defense is something that we need to get better at,” Jokic said. “I think, in moments, we showed that we can play really good defense.”
Denver committed 15 turnovers, nine of which were attributed to Jokic. Adelman noted the Grizzlies were sending a second defender when Jokic had his back turned.
“His turnovers were high, but he had 26, 15 and 11, made some huge plays at the end, made his free throws when they mattered,” Adelman said. “I was proud of him that he fought through it as well. He needs a break. Both those guys do.”
A 22-4 advantage in points off turnovers and a 15-point advantage off of made 3-pointers helped keep the Grizzlies in the game. A 3-pointer from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Denver’s former starting shooting guard, in the final 20 seconds would’ve tied the game, but Murray grabbed the rebound and hit a couple of free throws to accomplish the biggest goal of the night.
“We just didn’t take care of it as a team. Those things will be addressed when they get back. The most important thing about tonight was we wanted to get a win, going into the break. That’s what they did. The guys toughed it out,” Adelman said. “
“The goal was to win. We did that … we’re the three seed going into the break.”
The hope is more than a week off for the non-All-Stars will help those battling minor injuries come back fresher for the final 27 games of the regular season.
“Everybody on our roster contributed in some moment of this season. Some guys win us a couple of games that don’t play, right now, big minutes. Injuries definitely hurt us, but I think it definitely gave us a little bit of something, too,” Jokic said.
“Probably good for everybody, just a little break to get … rest, heal if you’re hurt. It definitely helps, couple of days off.”
NUGGETS 122, GRIZZLIES 116
What happened: Denver turned a two-point lead after the first quarter into a 60-54 halftime lead. The Nuggets extended the lead to 12 to start the fourth quarter and improved to 35-20.
What went right: It looked like Bruce Brown suffered a serious injury in the first half, but he returned and played 29 minutes. He went 4 of 6 from the field, including a clutch 3-pointer, and finished with 10 points, three rebounds and two assists.
What went wrong: Jalen Pickett left the game with right knee soreness and did not return. The reserve guard played eight minutes, scoring three points and grabbing a rebound.
Highlight of the night: Christian Braun is back to dunking in transition. After a defensive rebound, Nikola Jokic threw the ball ahead and hit Braun, who looked back to his old self while throwing down a double-pump dunk in the middle of the third quarter.
Up next: Denver’s All-Star break ends Feb. 19 against the Clippers in Los Angeles.