National Basketball Association

Nuggets 109, Grizzlies 105

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:31 p.m. ET

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Will Barton scored 25 points and the Denver Nuggets held off a late charge from the Memphis Grizzlies for a 109-105 victory Wednesday night at FedExForum.

The Grizzlies finally got the lead down to single digits, at 102-93, when Vince Carter (9 points) hit a triple with 2:58 left to play. The Grizzlies pulled to within four, at 104-100, when Lance Stephenson (12 points) made a putback with 45.7 seconds to go.

A pair of Barton free throws put Denver up six again, but Matt Barnes (6 points and 11 rebounds) hit a trey with 3.9 seconds left to make it 108-105. Another Barton free throw completed the scoring.

The Nuggets (32-44) shot 48.7 percent from the floor while going 13-for-29 from 3-point range for 44.8 percent. Guard Emmanuel Mudiay finished with 17 points and five assists. JaKarr Sampson, Darrell Arthur and Joffrey Lauvergne each scored 12 points and center Nikola Jokic had nine points with 14 rebounds.

The Grizzlies (41-34) never had a lead in the game. Beset by injuries, they lost their fourth straight. Power forward Zach Randolph returned to the lineup after missing two games with an ankle sprain and scored a game-high 26 points.

Trailing by 12 at halftime, the Grizzlies cut the Nuggets' lead in half in the third quarter, at 61-55. But the Nuggets carried an 84-68 lead into the fourth quarter. Mudiay scored 13 of his points in the third period and knocked down three shots from long distance.

Memphis shot 43.2 percent from the field and was 6-for-19 from behind the arc for 31.6 percent. The Grizzlies were just 17-for-27 from the foul line for 63 percent.

Point guard Jordan Farmar had 14 points and five assists for Memphis and forward JaMychal Green scored 13 points with 12 rebounds and three assists off the bench.

Leading by as many as 16 points in the first half, the Nuggets owned a 59-47 advantage at the break. Barton led all scorers with 14 points. Randolph's 12 points paced Memphis.

NOTES: One indication of just how injured the Grizzlies are came through coach Dave Joerger's radio as he was driving to the arena Wednesday night. "The tease for tonight was, 'Come down to FedExForum and see JaMychal Green's Grizzlies against Will Barton's Nuggets,'" Joerger said. "You know, things are different." ... Barton, who played for the University of Memphis, is averaging 14.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He was also the answer to a trivia question Denver coach Michael Malone put to the team. "Who is our leading defensive rebounder?" Malone said. "Everybody assumes it would be a big man. Our leading defensive rebounder is Will Barton. He's willing to go in there and attack the defensive glass and ignite our break." ... Grizzlies PF Zach Randolph returned to the starting lineup after missing two games with a sprained ankle. ... Nuggets C Jusuf Nurkic missed a second straight game because of illness.

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