Nikola Jokic unleashed one of his patented triple-double performances to pace the Denver Nuggets past the New Orleans Pelicans.
The Denver Nuggets started out strong and never looked back in a dominant showing against the New Orleans Pelicans, 122-88, for a convincing win in front of home fans at the Ball Arena in Colorado on Wednesday night (Thursday, Manila time).
Denver led wire-to-wire and were ahead by nine points at the end of the first quarter, 34-25, before amping up the pressure after the half.
In the third quarter, the Nuggets poured on 39 points while also limiting their foes to just 11 to blow the game wide open, leading by as much as 41 points in the fourth quarter against a Pelicans team that had Zion Williamson return after missing their last game.
The Nuggets went on an unanswered 24-0 scoring run that turned a nine-point 58-49 lead into a blowout at 82-49 with 4:26 left in the third quarter.
Jamal Murray and Christian Braun provided key offense in the pivotal run while Nikola Jokic continued to be the team’s anchor throughout 48 minutes. He finished with a triple-double even before the fourth quarter of the match.
He finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists to pace the team to their 3rd victory of the year.
They sent the Pelicans reeling to a 0-4 start.
Aiding Jokic were Murray and Braun who fired 17 markers respectively in all-around performances. Aaron Gordon had a near double-double of nine points and nine rebounds.
Jeremiah Fears led New Orleans in the losing effort with 21 points.
Williamson, meanwhile, had 11 points, two assists, one steal, and one block in his first game back from a foot issue. He had zero rebounds in more than 26 minutes of play.
—
Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.