The Denver Nuggets started slow and had too many turnovers, then manufactured a big lead and held on late to down the New Orleans Pelicans 125-118. Nikola Jokic fouled out for the first time in almost two years, but finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists. Peyton Watson scored a career-high 32 points on 19 shots and added 12 rebounds for his first career double-double, nailing 5 threes in the process. Cam Johnson added 14 and Jamal 16 with 8 assists as Denver won without Aaron Gordon or Christian Braun. The Pelicans got a great effort from Derik Queen with 30 points and 9 boards, and Trey Murphy III added 23 points and 5 steals, but Denver just built too large of a lead for them to overcome down the stretch with the margin at 17 with just over 6 minutes to go. Bruce Brown and Spencer Jones helped Denver get right in the first half with energy and effort, and the Nuggets get a chance to work on their mistakes and finishing stretch after a win – and that’s never a bad thing.
Game Flow
The Nuggets started with a couple of turnovers, but made up for it with a layup and a three, both from Peyton Watson. Jamal Murray had Denver’s third turnover in the first 3 minutes that lead to a Zion dunk, but then Jokic assisted on a Mal three and Trey Murphy made a couple of free throws followed by a paint bucket and New Orleans had the early lead at 10-8. Watson kept trying to score and the Pelicans ran out on misses for a couple of easy transition buckets while Jokic had yet to take a shot. Cam Johnson had a nice slashing layup, answered by a runner from Jeremiah Fears. Nuggets missed more shots wihth Watson being entirely uncovered, and had more turnovers as Yves Missi dunked and Herb Jones hit a three to fall down 23-10. Jokic finally took a shot (after 4 turnovers by himself) and buried a 3 from the top of the key to stop a 17-2 run. Jokic slow-rolled Missi to cut it to 8 but Denver had work to do with 4 minutes to go in the quarter. Herb Jones hit a long jumper, Jokic hit a short one, and Cam traded buckets with Jordan Hawkins. Jokic missed a shot but then made a layup and Spencer Jones got a steal that lead to a Bruce transition finish to cut it to 5. Denver finally found their energy, with a couple more near-steals and another Bruce Brown finish, and with the extra effort initiated by Spencer ended the quarter down just 4 at 30-26.
Hawkins opened the scoring in the second for New Orleans, Jonas Valanciunas answered with a 15 footer, and Jamal finally got to the rack for a floater but missed the free throw. Brown got in trouble but found Murray for the easy finish and Denver tied it at 32. Denver’s defensive energy stayed up but allowed a late-clock 3, then airballed their own 3. Tim Hardaway Jr. missed another 3, then got blocked at the rim in transition. The Nuggets got a block right back from Brown and it led to a Watson finish. Jonas then grabbed another rebound (6 in the first few minutes of the quarter) and got fouled on the other end for free throws. Zion Williamson got back in the game and immediately got to the line for the Pelicans, and New Orleans started up the full-court pressure again. Murray missed at the rim, then picked up a couple of defensive fouls. Watson had a nice cut for a dunk, Zion and Jonas exchanged buckets and kept the score tied at 40. The Nuggets decided to try the twin centers look for a couple of minutes with both Nikola and Jonas on the court, and the size bothered New Orleans a bit. Watson made a 3, Jonas missed a baby hook in the paint, and Bruce Brown got to the line in transition but missed both shots. Derik Queen had 2 dunks for the Pelicans sandwiched around Jokic free throws, and Cam Johnson buried a corner 3 in response. Murphy and Peyton Watson exchanged 3s also, then Zion got called for a charge. Bruce drew Zion’s third foul and made his free throws, Jokic got more free throws attacking the bucket, but another Watson turnover led to a Queen bucket, while Cam did a give-and-go with Jokic in the final minute for a score. Jokic hit a jumper for his 17th point of the first half, Murphy made a great three for New Orleans, and Joker hit Watson for the buzzer-beating dunk to make it 62-58 Denver at the half.
Jamal Murray and Derik Queen exchanged buckets to open the third quarter, Jokic hit a bank shot while his other hand was being held, and Watson hit a reverse-and-1 to get Denver a 9 point early lead. Fears blocked Watson’s layup but Jokic grabbed the board and Watson made the second attempt. Murphy made a jumper for New Orleans, then got free throws his next time down after a Murray turnover. Cam Johnson had a terrific finish off a Jokic pass, Peyton Watson buried another three for a career-high in points early in the third, and Denver took a 76-64 advantage. Jokic had a bad turnover, and Murphy made a pair of threes around a Jokic jumper. Watson made his fifth three of the game, again from the corner, and Murray buried a 3 to get the lead back to 12. Jokic fought through contact for a couple of rebounds and a finish, then got a bucket after goaltending on the Pelicans. THJ made a layup, Joker buried a 3, and Micah Peavy made two buckets for the Pelicans in return. Bruce Brown hit a nice running bank shot, then dunked in transition to get Jokic a triple-double with his 10th assist and Denver went into the fourth quarter up 97-83.
Hardaway hit a jumper for Denver in the fourth, as Zion and Zeke Nnaji exchanged free throws. Queen hit a jumper, Williamson had a layup, and Jonas got 4 free throws to answer. Derik Queen buried a 3, then blocked Jamal’s shot leading to a Fears layup, but the lead was still 12 for Denver. After a timeout, Bruce Brown had another great transition finish, then passed to Hardaway the next time down for a 3. Watson had a nice jumper and then a defensive rebound for 30 / 10 on the night, and Denver missed a couple of shots before Watson and Cam Johnson each had great dunks to put Denver up 19. Queen forced the action against Jokic and got to the foul line and made a tough finish, then Watson turned it over for a Herb Jones dunk and Adelman called a timeout for the final stretch. The Nuggets failed on offense again and put the Pelicans back on the line to finish an 8-0 run, then Jokic was called for a pushoff on offense that would foul him out and Denver decided to challenge. The challenge was unsuccessful and Jokic fouled out, bringing Jonas Valanciunas in for the final stretch. New Orleans got back to the line to cut the lead to single digits. Valanciunas broke the Denver scoreless streak but Queen made his shot and Watson got called for an offensive foul. Zion scored, Jonas answered with another long jumper, and back to the foul line for the Pelicans on the other end. Nnaji missed a layup, Queen hit a tough dunk, and Jamal finally got to the line for crucial free throws to make it 8 with 31 seconds to go and Denver took home the win 125-118.
Final Thoughts
-Watson played incredibly well – once he settled down. It started rough with Watson taking 6 of Denver’s first 12 shots of the game. But he had 17 points on 11 shots at halftime because he got into his role: Dunking finishes provided by Denver’s passing and hitting his favorite shot, the corner 3. Watson needs to be himself rather than trying to play like someone else, and forcing the offense is not (and never will be) his thing. But he showed he can have offensive impact doing it his way, if he’ll allow it. Joker kept finding him in the game and his energy and hustle on defense and in transition kept opening windows for his offense – and he jumped right through them. Great night for Peyton.
-Denver has to find their energy and their game earlier. The Nuggets let both the Bulls and the Pelicans get comfortable, giving up 30 in the first quarter to each club. Spencer Jones came in the game and got the energy right tonight, but the regular starters have to figure out how to do that for themselves. Jokic was a turnover machine in this one, and Denver is so much better when they play a clean game. The Pelicans were not forcing him into errors, they were mostly errors of connectiveness and concentration. Locking down the win is great, but Denver should not have had to work so hard in the first half – they were beating themselves. And that led to a tired squad getting run at the end of the game with the Pelicans driving the hoop endlessly in the fourth quarter and getting to the line to try to get the upset. Denver had too big a lead to surmount, but better effort early makes things easier late and doesn’t require such a huge energy expenditure in the second and third quarters to build that lead.
