Defeating the Memphis Grizzlies with a 17-2 streak, the Denver Nuggets are about to close at No. 1 in the West

The Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies are the two top holders of the Western rankings, so the battle between the two teams promises to be extremely interesting to watch. However, for those who watched the match, its ending was somewhat disappointing.

The Grizzlies were in the lead for more than half of the game, but they suddenly fell in the final round. At the right moment, Ja Morant and his teammates were completely suffocated with exactly 2 points scored in more than 4 minutes.

In contrast, the Denver Nuggets played tight to create an 18-2 streak. The match from the balance was tilted in favor of "Joker" and his teammates, thereby winning the final with a score of 113-97.

Nikola Jokic continued to work hard to pocket a triple-double, ending the game with 18 points (7-10 FG), 18 rebounds, 10 assists and 1 block in 35 minutes on the field.

Serbian Bigman has just hit the 100 triple-double mark in his career and every time he has this set of stats, the Denver Nuggets win (25 games unbeaten when Jokic has a triple-double this season).

However, the attention is not only on "The Joker" but also on Denver's rankings, having beaten their direct competitor to the top of the Western chart, the Nuggets are almost certain to close the No. 1 seed.

The Memphis Grizzlies are currently second with a 38-24 record, while the Denver Nuggets have a combined 45-19 record. Nuggets' head-to-head stats with the Grizzlies are also better with 2 wins, 1 loss in 3 meetings at Regular Season.

The performance of the Denver Nuggets is very high and stable. Throughout the season they have only had 3 losing streaks, each lasting up to 3 matches.

After that, Jokic and his teammates always came back stronger, having twice the number of victories to regain the spirit of the whole team. This helps the closer to the end of the Regular Season, the more Nuggets hold the No. 1 position in the West.

In the last 10 matches, coach Michael Malone and his students lost only 2 matches, got 8 victories against many strong opponents in both East and West.

“Since the All-Star break, every game we play against strong opponents like Memphis, Cleveland and Clippers, it's like playing the Playoffs. But I'm proud that my players have performed well despite strong opponents," coach Michael Malone said.

“This is an important win because it helps our rankings. This victory we want to give to the fans,” added Nikola Jokic.