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The Denver Nuggets had every reason to feel good Tuesday night. Not only did they beat Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies at home, 105-91, but they also are now the No. 1 team in the Western Conference. Those will make Nuggets rookie Christian Braun feel much better after Morant scored plenty of points on him.
“I thought I was doing a good job on Ja, and I looked up in the third quarter and he had 30,” Braun said following the Nuggets victory, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post.
Morant ended up with 35 points and 10 assists in 38 minutes, but he labored for his buckets for the most part. He shot just 12-for-26 from the floor and turned the ball over a total of seven times. It was his inefficient night with the ball that helped the Nuggets win the contest, and it was not going to be possible without the stout defense Braun and company played on the Grizzlies star.
Apart from his defense of Morant, Braun did some damage as well on the offensive side of the court, scoring 13 points on 5-for-11 shooting with an assist, three rebounds, a steal, and a block in 29 minutes as part of the Nuggets' starting unit.
Braun knows what it takes to win because he's a proven winner himself, having been a key figure in the Kansas Jayhawks' win in the 2022 National Tournament.
After his stint with the Jayhawks, Braun was selected in the first round (21st overall) by the Nuggets in the 2022 NBA Draft.
As for Morant and the Grizzlies, they will aim to prevent a three-game losing skid on Friday when they visit the Phoenix Suns.
