Nuggets hand Grizzlies frustrating loss

There are no moral victories in the NBA.  Grizzlies coach Lionel Hollins said so himself.  If there were, Sunday's 133-123 loss at Denver would have qualified.  The 10-point final margin is a bit misleading because the Grizzlies led by five after the opening quarter and hung around for much of the game.  The Grizzlies put up 40 points in the first quarter on 77 percent shooting, which at least ensured they would not start out flat on the road as they did so many times last season.  They shot the ball extremely well, finishing at 57.8% for the game.  Offense is not the problem.  What has hurt them in their first two losses is turnovers.  They gave the ball away 20 times on Sunday and 14 times in their opener against Detroit, robbing themselves of chances to build runs.  With the way they are shooting the ball right now, if they maximized their possessions, they could be undefeated or at least have played Detroit closer.  Against the Nuggets, the Grizzlies just didn't play enough defense to win.  The Nuggets weren't a whole lot better defensively, but the extra possessions they got allowed them to stay just far enough ahead of the Grizzlies to claim the win.

There is always room for improvement, especially after a loss, but the Grizzlies are far ahead of where they usually are through the first few games of a season.  They showed flashes of greatness against the Nuggets and never hit an extended lull like they have in past road games.  They did fade in the third quarter, but just as they did so many times a year ago, they roared back in the fourth quarter to make a game of it.

Reports that O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay exchanged heated words on the sideline late in Sunday's game are probably not a cause for concern.  Both are extremely competitive and were frustrated that they were playing as hard as they were and not really getting anywhere.  That shouldn't be a continuing problem.  The Grizzlies need to build on this experience and apply what they learned to tonight's game at Sacramento.

Mayo scored a career-high 40 points in the loss, while Gay scored 18 and Marc Gasol recorded another double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.