NBA: Nuggets erupt for 144 points, extend Pelicans’ skid

Feb 5, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) finishes off a basket in the fourth quarter of an NBA game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Michael Porter Jr. tied his career high with 39 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Nikola Jokic finished with 38 points and 10 assists and the host Denver Nuggets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 144-119 in the NBA on Wednesday night.

Christian Braun scored 23 points, Aaron Gordon tied his career high with 12 assists after missing a game and Jamal Murray and Julian Strawther had 10 points each for Denver.

The Nuggets tied their season high in points and swept the two-game home set from New Orleans.

READ: NBA: Nuggets finally finish off pesky Pelicans

Denver was without Russell Westbrook due to a hamstring injury, while Jose Alvarado was unavailable for New Orleans due to a non-COVID illness.

Zion Williamson led the Pelicans with 28 points, Trey Murphy III had 25 points and nine assists, CJ McCollum scored 19, Jordan Hawkins contributed 15, Yves Missi finished with 12 and Karlo Matkovic scored 10 and had nine rebounds.

New Orleans has lost seven straight.

Feb 5, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) prepares to shoot the ball in the second half of an NBA game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The game was tied at halftime but Denver took control with a big third quarter after the Pelicans took a 72-68 lead. Braun hit two free throws and a layup, Porter and Jokic also made layups before Braun drained a 3-pointer and hit another layup to cap a 13-0 run.

New Orleans regrouped and got within six but Porter started to heat up. He dunked, made a layup and two from deep to spark another Nuggets run that made it 96-80 midway through the third.

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Porter capped his 14-point quarter with a putback that gave Denver a 113-95 lead heading into the fourth.

The Pelicans got within 122-107 on a Hawkins jumper, prompting a Nuggets timeout and Jokic back into the game. He hit a 3-pointer and a hook shot, Porter dunked off a steal and Jokic hit his fifth 3-pointer to make it a 20-point lead.

New Orleans never got the deficit into single digits.

The teams played a close first half, with Denver’s biggest lead at six and the Pelicans up four at one point. There were 18 lead changes and 19 ties, including Murray’s bucket with 5.6 seconds left that sent the game into intermission at 68-all. –Field Level Media