Nuggets' balance on full display with clutch heroics in win over Pelicans

Who is this team!? No Nikola Jokic, no problem for the Nuggets, who have now won four out of their last five games without the three-time MVP. On Tuesday night, they went into New Orleans and took down the Pelicans, 122-116, with five separate players scoring 16 points or more for the visitors.

Last season, when Jokic missed time, the Nuggets were lucky to have five different players crack the scoring column, but suddenly, we seem to be witnessing one of the deepest teams in the NBA. It stars with Jamal Murray, who was incredible again, and continues to play at an All-NBA level.

He had 35 points and 9 assists, including 12 big points in the fourth quarter, the game-sealing assist, and buried two free throws for icing on the cake. In five games without Jokic, Jamal is averaging 27.8 points and 11 assists.

Right behind Murray, it has been breakout star, Peyton Watson. After winning Player of the Week honors for the Western Conference last week, P-Wat started off this week with 31 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and the game-winning basket with less than 40 seconds to play, breaking a 114-114 tie.

Nuggets getting contributions up and down the roster

Beyond that, Denver got 18 points from Tim Hardaway Jr., 16 from Aaron Gordon, and 16 from Jalen Pickett. They got steady minutes from Bruce Brown, Spencer Jones, and Zeke Nnaji as well, and won another game, missing not only Jokic but also Cam Johnson, Christian Braun, and Jonas Valanciunas.

With the win, the Nuggets improved to 27-13 on the season, tied for second place in the West with the Spurs, who fell to the Thunder. When Jokic went down with his knee injury, the fear was that the Nuggets might fall out of the top six in a loaded West and be forced to fight their way out of the play-in tournament.

But to the surprise of many, things have actually gone the other way, and Denver has actually made up ground in the standings, moving up to second place in a stacked conference. The mission was to hold, but this group has seized the opportunity and gone on the attack.

It has been amazing to see what a difference a few months have made for this team. The new front office came in and revamped the roster, the new coaching staff has empowered everyone on the roster, and the players have shown confidence and far surpassed any expectations.

It has been a joy to watch, and we can only hope it keeps rolling until the cavalry is ready to return. If these guys can keep up this level of play once the team is fully healthy, the rest of the NBA should be very afraid.