Before the Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies matchup, Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon were ruled out as they nursed minor injuries. Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. were also questionable but did end up playing. Despite being down two starters, the Nuggets were able to blow out the Grizzlies, 128-103. In fact, the Nuggets had the lead for the entire game.
With Murray and Gordon out, this opened the door for bench players to get some minutes in. Reggie Jackson would get the start in place of Murray, and Christian Braun would start in place of Gordon. While those are large roles to fill, the bench players made the most of their minutes.
“With Jamal and Aaron and Zeke [Nnaji] all out, guys got a lot of minutes that they hadn’t gotten in a while,” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said in his presser. “I thought they all made the most of those minutes.”
Jackson would finish the night with 15 points, eight assists, and one rebound. Braun would have 17 points, two assists, and five rebounds.
On top of the Nuggets bench players shining, Jokic continued his dominance and had no problem spreading the ball around. It looked like he was really enjoying playing with the bench guys.
