Ty Jerome had 21 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists as the Memphis Grizzlies ended an eight-game losing streak with a 125-118 victory over the Denver Nuggets.
Ty Jerome had 21 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists Wednesday night, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Denver Nuggets 125-118 to snap an eight-game losing streak in a makeup of a game postponed Jan. 25 due to bad weather.
Jerome nearly notched his first career triple-double, and he did it in a homecoming of sorts — returning to the lineup after missing Monday's 132-107 loss in Chicago due to injury. GG Jackson, who also sat out that game, was back as well and made his presence felt with 16 points.
Prosper finished with 19 points for Memphis, one of five Grizzlies in double figures. The injury-depleted Grizzlies (24-44) won for the first time since March 1 at Indiana and are now 4-15 in their last 19 games, but Wednesday's performance offered a glimpse of what this group is capable of when it gets the ball moving and applies defensive pressure.
Cedric Coward contributed 15 points and seven rebounds, while Taylor Hendricks was a menace off the bench — finishing with 13 points and accounting for three of Memphis' 12 steals as the Nuggets turned the ball over 19 times. Memphis turned those miscues into transition points all night, a dynamic that kept Denver from ever establishing much rhythm.
Nikola Jokić posted 29 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists for Denver — just missing his sixth triple-double in the past eight games — but he was also responsible for 10 turnovers, a costly night for a player of his caliber. Christian Braun scored 26 points, and Cameron Johnson added 20. Jamal Murray finished with 19 points, 12 assists, and eight rebounds for the Nuggets (42-28), who were playing the second night of a back-to-back after beating Philadelphia 124-96 at home Tuesday.
Memphis led by seven after one quarter, 31-30, before Denver scratched back to take a 60-57 lead midway through the second. The Grizzlies steadied, went on a late run, and the teams went into halftime tied at 60. Memphis then poured it on in the third, outscoring Denver 39-31 and building a lead that pushed to double digits before the quarter ended.
Denver made a push in the final period behind Jokić, but Memphis answered each surge. GG Jackson's 25-foot three-pointer with 5:33 left pushed the lead to five, and a driving layup 42 seconds later made it seven. Prosper iced it with a pair of free throws and a corner three in the closing minutes as the Nuggets never got closer than six.
Aaron Gordon sat out for Denver to manage a hamstring injury. The Nuggets remained percentage points behind Houston for fifth place in the Western Conference and fell a game behind fourth-place Minnesota with the loss.
The Grizzlies host the Boston Celtics on Friday night.