Grizzlies’ Cameron Boozer Calls Final Shot vs. Nuggets ‘a Learning Moment’

Cameron Boozer had the ball in his hands with the Memphis Grizzlies down three and 12.5 seconds left Wednesday night, after he rebounded Nikola Jokić’s missed second free throw. He pushed it up the floor and missed a 28-foot driving bank shot with 6.9 seconds to go.

The Denver Nuggets won 123-118 at FedExForum. Boozer finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists in 33:08, the most minutes of any Memphis player.

He shot 5-of-13 from the field, 2-of-7 from 3-point range, and 1-of-2 at the free-throw line. Five of his rebounds came in the fourth quarter, and he had 1 steal and 2 turnovers.

There was no Memphis timeout after the rebound. The Grizzlies had Ty Jerome, Boozer, Cedric Coward, Zach Edey, and Isaiah Stewart on the floor, and Denver led 121-118.

“I waited a second to see if we were gonna call timeout or not,” Boozer said. “I saw Ty and Coach talking about it before. On a miss, he wanted me to push, so I pushed it, and I thought I got fouled.”

“I watched the replay,” Boozer continued. “I either had to go up right when he touched me, or waited a second later and get a better shot, but it’s a learning experience.”

No foul was called. Aaron Gordon rebounded the miss and made both free throws after Stewart fouled him with 4.5 seconds left. Boozer’s second try, a 24-footer with 3.3 seconds remaining, also missed.

Boozer released the first attempt 5.6 seconds after his rebound. Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo said the plan was to push on a rebound and keep Denver from setting its half-court defense.

“It’s definitely a learning moment,” Boozer explained. “I think [I] could have got a better shot for sure, but I don’t mind the thought process behind it.”

In his second NBA game, on Oct. 23 in San Francisco, Boozer hit a 9-foot turnaround jumper with 20.1 seconds left to put Memphis ahead for good in a 111-108 win. It capped a 17-0 closing run, and Boozer finished that night with 25 points and 13 rebounds.

Memphis drafted Boozer third overall in June out of Duke. He has started all 11 of the Grizzlies’ games.

“I’ve been in a lot of moments like that,” Boozer said. “Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t. That’s just part of basketball. So I’m okay with taking a shot and missing or making a mistake, because I know down the line I’ll make the right play.”

On Oct. 29 at Portland, Boozer posted 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists for his first career triple-double. On Monday in Toronto, he scored 22 points with 8 assists despite going 0-of-5 from 3-point range.

Wednesday was the first meeting of the season between Memphis and Denver. Jokić finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists on 10-of-16 shooting in 36:55, and he committed one turnover.

Eight of Jokić’s points and 4 of his assists came in the first quarter, when Denver built a 35-24 lead. In the third, he scored 12 points, made 5 of 6 free throws, and hit two turnaround hooks less than a minute apart. He also made an 8-foot turnaround bank shot with 1:39 left in the second quarter.

Jokić scored 1 point in the fourth quarter. Both of his assists in the period set up baskets in the final three minutes, a Jamal Murray floater at 2:58 and a Cameron Johnson 3-pointer at 1:01 that made it 120-113.

“He just doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Boozer said. “… He’s making, getting, finding wide open guys, and then you’re staying home, and he’s hitting touch shots and floaters and mid-range shots, and it’s a tough cover for sure.”

“So I think that’s something I pride myself on too,” Boozer continued. “Just always making the right play, whether it’s for yourself or your teammates. So that was great to match up with him for sure.”

Boozer’s 5 assists went to five different teammates. He found Jaylen Wells for a fast-break layup and Taylor Hendricks for a 3 in the first quarter, Coward on a cut in the second, Jerome in transition in the third, and Edey for the 4-foot hook that made it 120-118 with 20.6 seconds left.

His first 3-pointer, off a Jerome pass with 6:11 left in the second quarter, made it 47-39. His second, a 26-foot pull-up with 1:21 left in the third, cut Denver’s lead to 87-86. In the fourth quarter, he scored on a cutting layup from Stewart and a 2-foot turnaround hook that made it 113-111 with 4:01 left.

Next for Memphis is Friday’s Emirates NBA Cup game at the New Orleans Pelicans, with tip-off at 7 p.m. CT.