Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 20 points and Jaylen Wells added 15 to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 105-90 victory Sunday over the visiting Denver Nuggets, who played without three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
Jokic missed his second straight game due to personal reasons. The Nuggets have lost two straight without Jokic after winning five in a row.
Julian Strawther came off the bench to score 19 points for the Nuggets, while Jamal Murray and Christian Braun had 13 each. Russell Westbrook scored 12.
Memphis — which has won four its last six — was without Ja Morant, absent since suffering a hip injury Nov. 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Another starter, Marcus Smart, missed the game because of an illness.
Desmond Bane made his first start for the Grizzlies since returning from the injured list Friday at Golden State. He had missed seven games with a strained right oblique.
On Sunday, Bane posted his fifth career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds while adding seven assists, and had two layups and an assist in a key late-game stretch after Denver cut a huge deficit to 11.
Grizzlies reserve rookie big man Zach Edey, who has been contributing at a high level off the bench, rolled his left ankle with 4:48 to go in the second quarter. He returned in the second half, but reinjured the ankle with 1:10 to go in the third and did not return.
Edey, the No. 9 overall pick in this year’s draft, finished with seven points, seven rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes.
The Grizzlies used a balanced attack in the first half to lead 55-43 at the break. Memphis relied on 31 bench points, led by Luke Kennard, who had eight points. The Grizzlies had assists on 18 of their 22 first-half field goals.
Memphis was ahead 28-25 at the end of the opening quarter and stretched its advantage to 15 with a 13-1 run to start the second period. The Grizzlies hit five 3-pointers in the second quarter, each by a different player.
To open the third, the Grizzlies scored 10 straight to extend their lead to 22 points (65-43). Memphis led by 20 (84-64) entering the fourth and survived a late rally that cut their lead to 99-88.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins tied the franchise record held by Lionel Hollins with his 214th victory.
