After the consternation that faced the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena, it had to feel good for the team to go on the road, get away from the noise, and get a win against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Nuggets led wire-to-wire in a 104-91 victory against the Pelicans on Wednesday night. They were able to generate a double digit first quarter lead and a 22-point lead early in the second quarter due to excellent work from Denver’s entire rotation.
That began with a notable starting lineup change as the Nuggets inserted Trevon Brazile in at small forward in place of Bryce Hopkins, who likely wouldn’t have been starting had Cam Johnson, Alpha Diallo, Julian Strawther, or Spencer Jones were available. Alas, none of them played, but Brazile has taken advantage of the opportunity in a major way. He had 11 points, 8 rebounds, a steal, and a block in 32 minutes, adding energy and dynamic athleticism to both ends of the floor.
Eventually, Denver went through a lull, and New Orleans got back into contact. That’s to be expected, but it happened from an abnormal stretch from Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, who committed turnovers and missed shots all in a row in the middle of the second quarter. Marvin Bagley even came in for Jokic to end the second quarter after Jokic picked up a third foul (I really liked Bagley’s performance tonight. His rim protection was very, very good).
New Orleans eventually cut the lead to as few as five points midway through the fourth quarter, but the Nuggets starters stabilized things, including three key three-pointers for Christian Braun. Through three games, Braun had shot just 2-of-13 from three, so seeing those go in during a clutch moment likely led to a sigh of relief for the fifth-year wing.
Aaron Gordon had good moments during that fourth quarter on both ends of the floor. Murray went for 23 points and 6 assists, holding things together with the bench unit before the other starters came back in. DeMar DeRozan closed the game over Brazile despite not playing particularly well, but he did set the table as a passer with 5 assists and had a couple steals to boot.
But it was Jokic that ultimately became the story, racking up the 200th triple-double of his career (regular season) with 21 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. Jokic joins Russell Westbrook as the only two players in NBA history to cross the 200 triple-double threshold. Oscar Robertson is third all-time with 181 triple-doubles, while Westbrook sits atop the list with 209.
After retiring this year, Westbrook’s total appears etched in stone, while Jokic is just 10 away from becoming the all-time leader in just his 12th season. Many around the league appreciate Jokic’s greatness, but not enough truly understand the degree to which Jokic is reseting the record books as a center in the modern NBA.
So, there was a lot to feel better about in Wednesday night’s game against the Pelicans. Denver had opportunities to let go of the rope, but they kept it together and looked the part of the veteran team dictating terms to a younger, less experienced group about how this game was going to go. The fact that Denver can display that control is still very encouraging.
Will this be enough to calm the waters in Denver? Probably not. It’s one game, and it won’t be until Denver stacks back-to-back performances like this one that fans will start breathing easier again.
Call this a great first step, an opportunity for the Nuggets to establish a precedent on the road away from all the noise. I do think that played a part in this performance as well: traveling after a bad loss, getting away from distractions for a bit, and simply focusing on basketball is often the best medicine in these situations.
The Nuggets will play against the Phoenix Suns on Friday, tipping off the vaunted NBA Cup in the desert. The last time Denver played their fifth game of the season on the road to begin the NBA Cup was last year at the Portland Trail Blazers, and the Nuggets lost a game in the clutch after letting go of the lead.
We will see if the Nuggets can have better success against Phoenix instead.
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