It has been debated which is worse — a bad start, or a breakdown somewhere in the game after a good start.
Thursday night, the Nuggets put a check in the bad start column.
They lost 102-101 to Memphis at the Pepsi Center. It was a game they spent the majority of digging themselves out of multiple holes.
In the process, the Nuggets have lost three out of four on this homestand, after winning the first two. It’s a gut-punch development after the solid start, and they have a large early deficit to thank for the latest setback.
Defense was nonexistent in the first quarter. The Grizzlies did whatever they wanted in the first 12 minutes — and almost every shot went in. Memphis hit 80 percent of its shots. Eighty. And when the Grizzlies weren’t making shots, they were getting fouled and making free throws. Memphis opened up an 18-point lead over the Nuggets.
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“We cannot start like that. We have to have better starts on our home court,” said forward Danilo Gallinari.
The Nuggets chipped away and chipped away. Memphis started the first half hitting 16 of its first 21 field-goal attempts. But the Grizzlies ended it just 4-of-17 as the Nuggets picked up their energy and tightened up their defense. By the 9:49 mark of the third quarter, the Nuggets got their first lead of the game on Kenneth Faried’s layup. And from there, the teams traded jabs.
“It gets so old,” said Denver coach Michael Malone. “You hear, ‘Great game, great comeback.’ We’re paid to win games. For me to have to call a timeout in the first quarter and beg and plead and demand our guys to play hard and to play with a sense of urgency, to play with a sense of physicality, when I have to do that we’re in trouble.
“To our guys’ credit, in quarters two, three and four we outscored them 78-65. But we are not a team that can spot a team 18 points. … They scored 37 points on 80 percent in the first quarter. Think about those numbers for a second. That is embarrassing.”
Memphis later carved out a five-point lead. With 4:48 left in the fourth quarter, Joffrey Lauvergne’s layup tied the score at 91. Memphis scratched out another three-point lead before Will Barton’s 3-pointer tied it at 94. The Nuggets held a 98-97 lead with 41 seconds remaining before Marc Gasol’s layup and foul shot put the Grizzlies ahead for good.
Gallinari then missed a long jump shot, and the Nuggets were forced to foul with 1.5 seconds left. Memphis’ Mike Conley nailed two more free throws, and Emmanuel Mudiay’s 3-pointer at the buzzer did nothing but make the final score a one-point loss for Denver.
Gasol was the difference. The Nuggets have had a hard time matching up with anyone with size this season, and Gasol was no different. He scored 12-of-15 Memphis points in the third quarter during one stretch and ended the night with a game-high 27 points, six assists and four rebounds. Conley finished with 20 points for the Grizzlies.
The Nuggets were led by Faried’s 17 points and 12 rebounds, but he was not on the court at all in the fourth quarter. Gallinari added 17 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or @dempseypost
