Jamal Murray had 42 points, Nikola Jokic finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, and the host Denver Nuggets rallied from a 23-point deficit to beat the New Orleans Pelicans 141-135 in overtime on Saturday night.
Jokic now has 199 career regular-season triple doubles, second to just-retired Russell Westbrook’s 209.
Trevon Brazile scored seven of his 17 points in overtime and hit a corner 3-pointer late in the extra period, Christian Braun had 15 points in the game and DeMar DeRozan added 12 points for Denver.
Trey Murphy III led the Pelicans with 26 points, Dejounte Murray had 22, Zion Williamson and Derik Queen contributed 17 each, Saddiq Bey scored 14 and Jeremiah Fears added 10.
New Orleans led 124-116 with 1:37 left in the fourth quarter before Jokic and Murray hit 3-pointers and Aaron Gordon’s dunk made it a two-point game. Murray tied the game at 126 when he was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made 2-of-3 free throws with 16 seconds left, sending the game to overtime.
Jokic’s two free throws in the first minute of overtime gave the Nuggets their first lead since the first quarter. His turnaround jumper in the lane made it 130-128. After Bey split a pair of free throws, Brazile drained a 3-pointer for a 133-129 advantage, and Denver closed it out.
The Pelicans raced to a 53-30 lead midway through the second quarter, but the Nuggets rallied in the final six minutes to get within 71-57 before Williamson’s dunk in the final second made it a 16-point game at half.
New Orleans’ lead was 19 heading into the fourth, but the Nuggets rallied.
With Murray and Jokic on the bench, Denver cut the deficit to 112-101 on Brazile’s 3-pointer with 9:04 left, prompting a New Orleans timeout. The Pelicans extended the lead to 16 points at 118-102, but a 9-0 Nuggets run capped by Brazile’s putback dunk made it 118-111.
The Nuggets played without Julian Strawther (knee sprain) Spencer Jones (hamstring), Cameron Johnson (sprained ankle) and rookie Alpha Diallo (sprained wrist).
New Orleans was without center Yves Missi after he suffered a knee bruise in a loss at Utah on Friday night.
–Field Level Media
