MEMPHIS — The play looked a bit frazzled, but Gary Harris’ mind stayed calm.
With his Nuggets clinging to a two-point lead against the lowly Grizzlies and the shot clock ticking down, Harris dribbled from the left wing to the middle of the floor. When two defenders converged on Harris, he stepped back and let the ball fly from 20 feet away with less than a minute to go.
The bucket certainly was not Harris’ most dramatic — or prettiest — of the season. But the most consistent Nugget clinched an important 108-102 victory Friday night at FedEx Forum to keep Denver in the eighth spot in the crowded Western Conference playoff standings and begin a road-heavy March with a win.
“It was just wanting to get a shot on the rim, and it went down,” said Harris, who finished with a game-high 26 points. “Itap a simple game. Either you miss it or make it, right?”
The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Nuggets (34-28) and upped their road record to 10-19 to start a month in which they will play 11 of 15 games away from the Pepsi Center. The Grizzlies (18-43), who had just 10 players available Friday as they continue to “tank” during this forgettable season, lost their season-high 12th game in a row.
The game also marked the next step in the injury return of Paul Millsap, who was a surprise addition to the Nuggets’ starting lineup in his second game back from a three-month absence due to wrist surgery. He finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and four steals, and helped secure the win with a defensive rebound and steal in the final minute.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone stressed he was only “delaying the inevitable” by bringing Millsap off the bench, the role the four-time all-star’s held for Tuesday’s stunning home loss to the Clippers. But while the coach said publicly on Thursday that shifting Millsap to the starting lineup would likely take place sometime next week, Millsap revealed after Friday’s win that Malone informed him during Thursday’s practice that he would be back with the first unit.
That, Malone hopes, will speed up the adjustment process not just for Millsap, but for teammates like Wilson Chandler (who moved from starting power forward to starting small forward), Will Barton (who moved from the starting lineup to the bench) and Trey Lyles (whose minutes increased from five minutes on Tuesday to 15 on Friday).
“I just felt, to be honest, after that Clipper game going into tonight with 21 games to go, ‘What am I waiting for?'” Malone said.
Millsap, who played 27 minutes, helped Denver build a double-digit lead that rapidly dwindled in a game in which the Nuggets shot 54.8 percent from the floor but committed 24 turnovers that the Grizzlies turned into 31 points and surrendered 17 offensive rebounds converted into 20 second-chance points. In the second quarter, Millsap followed a Barton missed 3 with a dunk, drilled a trey to give the Nuggets a game-high 58-42 lead and converted a difficult finish inside. He grabbed two rebounds, collected two steals, hit two free throws and made a floater in the third. Down the stretch, Millsap pulled down a rebound on a missed 3 by Marc Gasol (22 points, nine rebounds) with 45.8 seconds to play and swiped his final steal on Memphis’ last possession.
“He snatched the band-aid off and put me out there,” Millsap said. “… It felt pretty good. I’m still picking my spots. Still learning from these guys and playing off of them. Tonight, the flow was pretty good for the most part.”
Barton complemented Millsap with 24 points and six rebounds, including a key jumper just before the shot clock expired to snap a 11-0 surge by Memphis that cut the Nuggets lead to 95-91 with about eight minutes to play. Later in the period, Harris threw down an alley-oop dunk to extend Denver’s lead to 103-98 with 2:31 remaining, before his dagger with less than a minute to go.
And as Harris matter-of-factly explained how he knocked down the step-back that helped Denver step away from Memphis with a much-needed win, Barton walked by with a message.
“Big shot, G!” Barton hollered at his teammate. “Nickname: Money!”
