Nuggets vs. Pelicans takeaways
By Mathew Huff
The Denver Nuggets won an overtime thriller over the New Orleans Pelicans.
In a game which saw the Nuggets’ star, Nikola Jokic, return from injury, Denver provided the Pepsi Center crowd with a great match up.
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They showed a lot of fight and didn’t give up when things started going the Pelicans way. Guys like Gary Harris, Will Barton and Jamal Murray were key as they helped fuel an overtime period where they were able to salvage a win.
Will Barton hit an instrumental three down the stretch in the fourth quarter when New Orleans looked as if they were going to win by a point or two. He also scored 11 of the 19 points in the overtime period for Denver.
Murray had another efficient night to follow up his two straight 28 point games recently. He finished with 15 points and five rebounds.
Gary Harris had another great scoring night as he finished with 21 points on 56.2% shooting to go along with five assists. Harris has done a great job as of late of distributing the ball.
As far as Nikola Jokic is concerned, he actually came off the bench in this game. He still finished with a double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. His defense was a little rusty which was to be expected as Cousins and Davis still had big games.
Of course, we cannot forget about Trey Lyles. Lyles continues to look more and more like the future four for the Nuggets after Millsap tenure is up for Denver. Lyles had a 19 point game while also shooting 50% and grabbing seven rebounds.
The biggest takeaway from this win though is how much fight Denver showed. They did not give up and they went out kicking and screaming with a win.
Next: Recap: Pelicans at Nuggets
If they continue to show this type of fight, the rest of the West may want to look out going forward.