The Denver Nuggets stumbled in the fourth quarter, costing themselves the game in a 101-95 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Thursday night. The main reason for the defeat here for the Nuggets was the lack of effort, primarily by their guards, rebounding the ball. Denver got dominated on the glass, getting outrebounded 58-44 by New Orleans. The Nuggets really failed to rebound the ball well as a team against the Pelicans, relying heavily on Kenneth Faried, Nikola Jokic and Darrell Arthurt to carry the load rebounding. The three combined for 29 of the Nuggets 44 total rebounds and were responsible for all of 8 of their offensive rebounds. The Pelicans on the otherhand rebounded well as a team, having six players finish with at least five rebounds against the Nuggets.
Denver once again failed to contain the perimeter defensively in this game. The Pelicans scored 39 of their 101 points from the beyond arc, shooting 44.4 percent from the three-point line. New Orleans point guards were responsible for most of the damage done against the Nuggets perimeter defense. Tim Frazier and Toney Douglas combined to shoot 6-12 (50%) from the three-point line, scoring 37 points and 18 assists, outplaying Augustin and Mudiay in the process. Denver’s point guard duo only combined for 22 points and 12 assists on 42.8 percent shooting from the field and 40 percent shooting from the three-point line. The Nuggets relied way too heavily on Darrell Arthur offensively in this game, who was the lone bright spot for Denver. Arthur finished with 24 points and 9 rebounds shooting 10-15 from the field and 4-5 from the beyond the arc.
Player of The Game: Tim Frazier – 17 PTS, 8 AST, 5 REB, 2 TO, 6-12 FG, 3-5 3PT, 2-2 FT
What’s Next for Denver: The Nuggets (32-45) will return home to face the dysfunctional Sacramento Kings (30-45) on Saturday night at 7:00 PM MT. Sacramento leads the season series against Denver 2-0, seeking the season sweep on Saturday.