The Denver Nuggets face the Memphis Grizzlies Watch FREE LIVE STREAMING ONLINE Friday night NBA Basketball from Fed Ex Forum at 7:00 PM ET .
With their fight for a playoff spot as tight as could be, the Grizzlies return from a weary road trip having won 10 straight at home and face a sub-.500 Nuggets team which rarely wins on the road.
Taking advantage may be crucial considering two imposing opponents loom ahead, not to mention Memphis, Dallas and Phoenix enter Friday within a half-game of each other for the Western Conference's final two playoff spots. The Grizzlies (44-31) visit league-best San Antonio on Sunday, then host defending champion Miami on Wednesday.
The two days off between those tests will surely be a relief to a team which is coming off a trek that included five games in eight days. Three were losses and two were wins by a combined six points, including a 94-92 victory in Denver on Monday.
The Grizzlies have allowed 100 points only once during a 10-game win streak at FedEx Forum -- their longest since a franchise-record run of 13 last season -- but surrendered 100 for the third time in four games Wednesday. Opponents shot 51.0 percent in that span, and the Timberwolves' 53.1 percent was the best any team has done against Memphis since the All-Star break.
The Nuggets lost 120-99 on Dec. 28 in their last trip to Memphis and enter this one with a 3-12 road record since the beginning of February. They've yielded an average of 111.1 points in that span, and during the current four-game road losing streak, opponents have shot 46.9 percent from 3-point range.
Denver hit 15 of 27 from that distance Wednesday in a 137-107 rout of New Orleans, snapping a four-game losing streak.
Kenneth Faried is averaging 20.5 points and 10.3 boards in his last 15 games, clearly not giving up on the season despite Denver missing the playoffs for the first time since 2003.
"I don't check out, I don't know what check out means," Faried said. "... Before the game we were talking and (coach Brian Shaw) said, 'Hey, we have eight games left fellas, let's go out here and play hard and give the fans something to cheer about.'"
The game will be live streaming online at www.nbalivestreamfree.net
