Gradually, the Memphis Grizzlies are becoming whole again.
With the return of Desmond Bane and Vince Williams Jr. from the injured list Friday night — and the return of Marcus Smart earlier in the week — the Grizzlies had all but two-time All-Star guard Ja Morant available among its usual starters.
When the Grizzlies host the Denver Nuggets on Sunday, Morant will remain sidelined as he recovers from a right hip injury. Morant has been out since suffering a posterior hip subluxation on Nov. 6 in a home game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Morant crashed to the floor attempting to complete an alley-oop dunk. The Grizzlies continue to list his return as week-to-week.
Both Smart and Bane were injured in an Oct. 30 game against Brooklyn. Smart turned an ankle and Bane suffered an oblique strain. Bane had missed seven consecutive games.
Bane and Smart, normally starters, came off the bench during Friday’s 123-118 NBA Cup game loss at Golden State. Bane played 27 minutes — the second-most among Memphis players — and finished with 18 points in his first use as a reserve since the 2001 season.
Smart had nine points and six assists. Key reserve Williams made his season debut and contributed nine points, five rebounds and four assists. Williams had been out since suffering a shin injury in the preseason.
The Grizzlies struggled despite approaching full strength. Memphis was 7 of 42 (16.7) percent from beyond the arc, one of the worst long-range shooting performances in franchise history. With the exception of Jaylen Wells (2 of 6), Memphis starters went 0-for-11 from 3-point range.
Through three quarters, the Grizzlies were shooting 36.5 percent overall from the floor.
“We started knocking down some 3s late in the fourth quarter, we got to the rim, we got fouled, got some easier layups,’ said Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins. “I just kept pressing that we were going to play our style throughout the game, and it just caught up with us (too) late in that fourth quarter when we really got going.”
Denver also fell in its NBA Cup debut game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night, struggling without three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic, who missed the game because of personal reasons. He is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against Memphis.
Dario Saric filled in for Jokic on Friday and had nine points, eight rebounds and five assists in 34 minutes.
“Obviously, it’s impossible to fill Nikola’s shoes, so I try to do my best,” Saric said. “And I think I can make better decisions especially when I try to blitz or double team.”
Without Jokic controlling the defensive boards, New Orleans was able to grab 17 offensive rebounds during its 101-94 victory.
New Orleans outrebounded Denver 56-38.
“They were crashing the glass, they were trying to cause turnovers,” said Nuggets assistant David Adelman, filling in for head coach Michael Malone, who missed the game to attend his daughter’s state volleyball match.
“We knew how aggressive they were going to be. The glass lost us the game. There’s no question about it, it was the deciding factor. When you don’t make shots, and you play that good of defense for 24 seconds, and you’re doing all the right things, you have to finish possessions, and we didn’t do it.”
