The Nuggets weren’t particularly dynamic, but their dynamite duo certainly was as Denver held off New Orleans for a 122-113 victory Tuesday night.
Center Nikola Jokic scored 26 points and added another triple-double to his fat resume, while guard Jamal Murray led all scorers with 32 points on 10-of-21 shooting. Murray was 7 of 12 on 3-pointers and his long-distance swish with 2:24 left in the game put Denver ahead comfortably, 116-107.
Murray now has 771 3-pointers in his Nuggets career, overtaking J.R. Smith (768) for the second most in franchise history. Former Nuggets Will Barton has the most, with 804.
Asked what it will take to catch Barton, Murray joked: “I could do that in, like, three games.”
Denver had lost three of its previous four games but responded Tuesday night in its return to Ball Arena where it owns a 23-4 record. But for one half they played ugly basketball.
“I told our players at halftime, ‘That’s one of the worst halves we have played all year, and to be only down by three because of how we closed that quarter, was obviously really important for us to win this game,” coach Michael Malone said.
“I thought the way we came out to start that third quarter was tremendous; one of our better third quarters in a while,” Malone continued.
Jokic, who had 15 assists and 18 rebounds and was serenaded with chants of “MVP!” from the crowd, has put up a triple-double in five of his last six games and in nine of his last 13 games overall. The Nuggets have won 16 consecutive games and 27 of its last 28 when the Jokic dishes 10 or more assists.
And when Murray scores big, good things happen for the Nuggets. They improved to 10-1 this season when he scores 25 or more points. Murray has scored 16-plus points in 13 straight games, the longest streak of his career.
But the Pelicans didn’t make it easy for Denver, especially when they shot the lights out in the first half.
Former Nuggets forward Marcus Camby, who was named NBA defensive player of the year in the 2006-07 season, sat courtside. The Nuggets could have used his defensive acumen during a second-quarter swoon when the Pelicans went on a 16-8 run to take a 51-39 lead with 5 minutes left.
At that point, the Pelicans were shooting nearly 67% from the floor. They finished the half shooting 55.8% (24 of 43), including 46.7% from 3-point land (7 of 15).
Denver, which was out of sync with Jokic, Murray and Aaron Gordon on the bench, found its rhythm when the trio re-entered the game and the Nuggets trimmed New Orleans’ lead to 60-57 at intermission.
Jokic’s Houdiniesque sleight of hand — he faked a pass into the corner to Michael Porter Jr., then drove to the hoop for the layup — brought the crowd to its feet near the end of the second.
Jokic said it was not a move he’s practiced before.
“No, it just happened in the moment,” he said “Someone was passing by me, I wanted to hand it off, and I felt a guy
was dropping (off) … And I had a straight line to the basket.”
New Orleans, which looks lost with young star Zion Williamson (hamstring) out of the lineup, has lost nine straight and is 3-14 over its last 17 games.
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