Grizzlies blow 25-point lead vs. Nuggets, chance at miracle finish when Kyle Anderson steps out of bounds
The Memphis Grizzlies started the fourth quarter of Monday’s home game against the Denver Nuggets with a 17-point lead.
Halfway through the third quarter, they led by 25, holding a 70-45 edge.
But down the stretch, they demonstrated with great clarity why they’ve decided to blow this team up.
Nuggets rally from 25-point deficit
The Nuggets outscored the Grizzlies 35-15 in the final stanza to complete a furious rally and pull off a 95-92 win in front of a stunned Memphis crowd.
Making matters worse for Memphis was the tease of an almost miracle finish on a hectic late sequence starring Grizzlies forward Kyle Anderson.
After Nuggets center Nikola Jokic backed down Marc Gasol for the go-ahead bucket with 28.9 seconds left, giving Denver a 93-92 lead, Anderson had a chance to play the hero.
He was reluctant to say the least.
Anderson has multiple shots to retake lead
Anderson took the ball on a pass from Mike Conley with time winding down and found himself wide open at the top of the key.
He opted against the jump shot and drove the lane, where he pump-faked in traffic twice before he realized he was camped in the lane and had to do something.
That something was an ill-advised turnaround jumper that bounced off the front of the rim directly back into his hands. Anderson found himself open again, this time from about 19 feet. He launched another jumper that never had a chance, but had the wherewithal to recognize his bad shot and where the rebound was going.
Oh-so-close in the end
Anderson corralled the rebound near the baseline and launched a desperate high-arcing shot over the backboard that went through the basket with around three seconds remaining.
But the play was blown dead. Anderson had stepped out of bounds to turn the ball over. Replay confirmed that his shoe barely, painfully touched the edge of the baseline.
Memphis would not score again.
The sequence capped a brutal loss at home for the Grizzlies and another shining moment in a breakout season for the Nuggets, who remain in second place in the Western Conference.
Jokic led Denver with 24 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Gasol’s 28 and Conley’s 23 went for naught in the losing effort.
Related video on Yahoo Sports
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Saints player still upset: His Pro Bowl shirt says it all
• Golfer loses nearly $100K for questionable penalty
• Funny ending to rain-soaked, blooper-filled Pro Bowl
• Reigning MVP backs out of White House visit
