The Denver Nuggets were on fire coming into Sunday having won three in a row and eight of their last nine games. Just when the Nuggets were flying high, in stepped Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans who ended up spoiling all the fun.
In a game that saw the Pelicans outshoot the Nuggets 30-10 from the free-throw stripe, New Orleans found a way to pick up a 113-108 road victory in the Mile High City. All you need to know about the free-throw discrepancy is that Nikola Jokic — the Nuggets superstar player and MVP front runner — did not attempt one free-throw all game long.
After scoring just four points in the first half, Jokic did finish with 29 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field. Jokic also dished out 10 assists and hauled in seven rebounds in the loss. Jamal Murray also had a pretty solid game scoring 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field, 3-of-6 from beyond the three-point line.
As for the Pelicans, they were led by Williamson, who scored 30 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, 11-of-14 from the three-throw line. Brandon Ingram also scored 30 points as he and Williamson were virtually unstoppable all game long.
It was a frustrating game to say the least as the Nuggets record falls to 25-17 on the season, which is still good for sixth in the Western Conference. Denver is still just a half game back of the Portland Trail Blazers for fifth place in the West.
Denver will be back in action on Tuesday when they head to Orlando to face the Magic with tip-off set for 5pm MST.
