Pelicans have started a winning streak after defeating the Denver Nuggets 115-110 in the Smoothie King Center. After losing five straight games, the Pelicans have won their last two contest and are 2-1 in the NBA In-Season Tournament. New Orleans victory also gets them back to .500 on the season at 6-6.
New Orleans opened the game setting the tempo from the opening tip. The Pelicans started on an 8-2 run and heavily featured Zion Williamson in the offense. Williamson scored 13 points on 5/5 shooting in the opening period. A point of emphasis in this game was controlling the paint early. Denver outscored the Pelicans 64-46 in paint points on Nov. 6.
The Nuggets were down by as many as 20 points but battled back to get the deficit down to just 1 point, though they fell short. Denver is now 9-3 on the season, tied for the best record in the Western Conference standings. They're 2-3 on the road.
Poor shooting was a major catalyst for the loss. The Nuggets went just 10-of-40 from behind the arc and hoisted many difficult attempts. The Pelicans, meanwhile, made a ridiculous 53.3 percent of their threes.
Nikola Jokić was Denver's standout with 26 points, 16 rebounds, and 18 assists. His 18 assists were the most any player has tossed out in an NBA game this season. This tied Jokić's career-high for most assists in a game. Tuesday was Jokić's fifth triple-double of the year, the most by any NBA player.
Christian Braun was also exceptional off the bench. He recorded a career-high 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting and made a trio of threes.
Williamson finished with a team-high 26 points, and the team shot a season-high 52% from beyond the arc. On defense, they did a masterful job slowing down Nikola Jokic in the fourth quarter. 'The Joker' scored just 3 points in the last period. 
New Orleans has a quick turnaround as they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night back in the Smoothie King Center.
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