Game ID: 22300034
Denver Nuggets @ New Orleans Pelicans
Friday, November 17, 2023 at 8:00 PM ET
Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
NOP 36 33 26 20 115DEN 28 25 33 24 110
DEN @ NOP ScoutingDEN @ NOP Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
NOP availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restBACK Ingram back 11/04 after 3, 34 min since (102% of 33)
NEW Hawkins 17 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 25 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/10 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 2 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Ingram back 11/04 after 3, 33 min since (100% of 33)
NEW Hawkins 17 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 25 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/12 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 3 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Jones missed 2 since 11/08, out tonight
BACK Ingram back 11/04 after 3, 34 min since (104% of 33)
NEW Daniels 22 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 24 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/14 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 4 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Jones missed 3 since 11/08, returns tonight: 31 min (99% of 31)
BACK Ingram back 11/04 after 3, 34 min since (102% of 33)
NEW Daniels 22 to 29 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 22 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/17 · 2 days' restOUT McCollum missed 5 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Jones back 11/14 after 3, 31 min since (99% of 31)
NEW Daniels 22 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 23 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/18 · back-to-backOUT McCollum missed 6 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 2 since 11/14, out tonight
BACK Jones back 11/14 after 3, 34 min since (110% of 31)
NEW Daniels 22 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 32 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 22 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/20 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 7 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 3 since 11/14, out tonight
OUT Alvarado missed 2 since 11/17, returns tonight: 15 min (84% of 18)
BACK Jones back 11/14 after 3, 32 min since (104% of 31)
NEW Daniels 22 to 34 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 33 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 22 min over the last 5
NOP availability going into 11/22 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 8 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Nance Jr. missed 4 since 11/14, returns tonight: 12 min (62% of 20)
BACK Jones back 11/14 after 3, 31 min since (100% of 31)
BACK Alvarado back 11/20 after 2, 15 min since (84% of 18)
NEW Daniels 22 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Ryan 14 to 23 min over the last 4
NOP availability going into 11/24 · 1 day's restOUT McCollum missed 9 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Ryan missed 2 since 11/20, out tonight
BACK Jones back 11/14 after 3, 32 min since (105% of 31)
BACK Nance Jr. back 11/22 after 4, 12 min since (62% of 20)
BACK Alvarado back 11/20 after 2, 17 min since (93% of 18)
NEW Daniels 22 to 31 min over the last 5
NEW Hawkins 17 to 29 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 11/06 · 1 day's restOUT Holiday missed 2 since 11/03, out tonight
BACK Jordan back 11/04 after 6, 12 min since (113% of 11)
DEN availability going into 11/08 · 1 day's restOUT Holiday missed 3 since 11/03, returns tonight: 8 min (54% of 15)
BACK Jordan back 11/04 after 6, 12 min since (113% of 11)
DEN availability going into 11/12 · 3 days' restOUT Murray missed 2 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 2 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/08 after 3, 8 min since (54% of 15)
DEN availability going into 11/14 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 3 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 3 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/08 after 3, 8 min since (54% of 15)
NEW Jackson 21 to 26 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 11/17 · 2 days' restOUT Murray missed 4 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 4 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/08 after 3, 5 min since (33% of 15)
NEW Jackson 21 to 28 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 11/19 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 5 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 5 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/08 after 3, 5 min since (33% of 15)
NEW Gordon 32 to 38 min over the last 5
NEW Jackson 21 to 30 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 11/20 · back-to-backOUT Murray missed 6 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 6 since 11/06, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/08 after 3, 9 min since (61% of 15)
NEW Jackson 21 to 29 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 11/22 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 7 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Jordan missed 7 since 11/06, out tonight
NEW Jackson 21 to 29 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 11/24 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 8 since 11/06, out tonight
OUT Holiday missed 2 since 11/20, returns tonight: 13 min (86% of 15)
OUT Jordan missed 8 since 11/06, out tonight
NEW Jackson 21 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Braun 20 to 26 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 121, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Ingram at 24 and Williamson at 20 a game. Without McCollum (5 straight). 2 days' rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 107, shooting 50 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Jokić at 33 and Porter Jr. at 20 a game. Without Murray (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Denver wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 107 a night to New Orleans's 121 and the turnovers, New Orleans giving it away 16 times a game to Denver's 10. Call it Denver 116, New Orleans 111.
11/08 @ MIN 101-122 — NOP notes
NOP lost 101-122. NOP took 11 more shots (93 to 82), fed by 11 offensive rebounds, but shot 39% to MIN's 55%, 8 of 28 from three. Ingram led with 24 (11 of 25, 1 of 6 from three); Hawkins added 14, Ryan 12. Q4 was theirs, 33-25, the deficit cut from 29 to 21, but the other 3 periods went 97-68 against them. Valančiūnas's -29 in 22 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/10 @ HOU 101-104 — NOP notes
NOP lost 101-104. NOP shot 45% (34 of 75) to HOU's 41%, 8 of 25 from three, and went to the line 34 times to HOU's 28 — 25 points from the stripe to their 22. NOP turned it over 18 times to HOU's 9, and HOU turned those into 9 steals. Ingram led with 31 (11 of 24, 3 of 11 from three, 6 of 9 at the line); Williamson added 24, Valančiūnas 15. Q3 was theirs, 31-16, turning a 6-point deficit into a 9-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 88-70 against them. They led by as many as 10. Ryan's -9 in 16 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/12 vs DAL 124-136 — NOP notes
NOP lost 124-136. NOP shot 51% (47 of 92) to DAL's 49%, 17 of 36 from three. NOP turned it over 18 times to DAL's 6. The glass went 54-42 for them. Ingram led with 20 (9 of 17, 1 of 3 from three); Williamson added 18, Daniels 17. Q4 was theirs, 39-27, the deficit cut from 24 to 12, but the other 3 periods went 109-85 against them. Daniels's -29 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/14 vs DAL 131-110 — NOP notes
NOP won 131-110. NOP shot 52% (49 of 94) to DAL's 42%, 14 of 38 from three. NOP turned it over 12 times to DAL's 20. Ingram led with 25 (11 of 20, 1 of 5 from three); Hawkins added 25, Jones 19. The hinge was Q3, 44-31: a lead of 16 became 29, and the lead reached 33. Valančiūnas was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
11/17 vs DEN 115-110 — NOP notes
NOP won 115-110. NOP shot 52% (46 of 88) to DEN's 49%, 12 of 23 from three, and went to the line 21 times to DEN's 12 — 11 points from the stripe to their 6. The glass went 39-51 against them. Williamson led with 26 (10 of 17, 5 of 11 at the line); Valančiūnas added 22, Ingram 21. The hinge was Q1, 36-28: from level to 8 ahead, and the lead reached 20. Williamson was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
11/18 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 116, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 25 free throws a game; Ingram at 24 and Williamson at 22 a game. Without McCollum (6 straight), Nance Jr. (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 35 from three, 26 free throws a game; Towns at 26 and Edwards at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Minnesota has been plus-4 a night and New Orleans minus-1 and the arc, New Orleans at 39 percent from three to Minnesota's 35. Call it Minnesota 114, New Orleans 111, New Orleans keeping it close.
11/20 vs SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 116, shooting 51 percent and 42 from three, 25 free throws a game; Ingram at 25 and Williamson at 22 a game. Without McCollum (7 straight), Nance Jr. (3 straight), Alvarado (2 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 112, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Fox at 32 and Sabonis at 26 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: New Orleans wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it New Orleans 117, Sacramento 116, Sacramento keeping it close.
11/22 vs SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 114, shooting 52 percent and 44 from three, 23 free throws a game; Ingram at 25 and Williamson at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without McCollum (8 straight), Nance Jr. (4 straight). One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 118, shooting 51 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Fox at 29 and Sabonis at 24 a game. One day's rest.
So: New Orleans wins, and the game turns on the glass, where New Orleans has been plus-5 a night and Sacramento minus-2 and the arc, New Orleans at 44 percent from three to Sacramento's 38. Call it New Orleans 119, Sacramento 115, Sacramento keeping it close.
11/24 @ LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 103, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 26 free throws a game; George at 27 and Leonard at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. New Orleans comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 109, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 26 free throws a game; Ingram at 26 and Williamson at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without McCollum (9 straight). One day's rest.
So: The Clippers win, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it the Clippers 113, New Orleans 111, New Orleans keeping it close.
11/06 vs NOP 134-116 — DEN notes
DEN won 134-116. DEN shot 54% (51 of 95) to NOP's 50%, 15 of 39 from three, and went to the line 23 times to NOP's 15 — 17 points from the stripe to their 13. Jokić led with 35 (15 of 24, 2 of 6 from three); Porter Jr. added 22, Strawther 21. The hinge was Q3, 40-21: DEN came in trailing by 12 and left it ahead by 7, and the lead reached 18. DEN trailed 59-71 at the half and won the second half 75-45. Caldwell-Pope was the night's best plus/minus at +23.
11/08 vs GSW 108-105 — DEN notes
DEN won 108-105. DEN shot 45% (41 of 92) to GSW's 43%, 11 of 35 from three. Jokić led with 35 (14 of 25, 1 of 8 from three, 6 of 10 at the line); Jackson added 20, Porter Jr. 17. The hinge was Q1, 26-21: from level to 5 ahead. Porter Jr. was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
11/12 @ HOU 104-107 — DEN notes
DEN lost 104-107. DEN shot 46% (42 of 91) to HOU's 43%, 9 of 32 from three, and got to the line 14 times to HOU's 29. Jokić led with 36 (13 of 26, 2 of 6 from three, 8 of 8 at the line); Porter Jr. added 25, Gordon 16. Q1 was theirs, 30-23, but the other 3 periods went 84-74 against them. Nnaji's -18 in 11 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/14 vs LAC 111-108 — DEN notes
DEN won 111-108. DEN shot 53% (39 of 73) to LAC's 43%, 8 of 23 from three, and went to the line 32 times to LAC's 24 — 25 points from the stripe to their 21. Jokić led with 32 (8 of 23, 2 of 7 from three, 14 of 14 at the line); Gordon added 20, Jackson 18. The hinge was Q2, 32-26: a lead of 2 became 8. Jackson was the night's best plus/minus at +9.
11/17 @ NOP 110-115 — DEN notes
DEN lost 110-115. DEN took 8 more shots (96 to 88), fed by 11 offensive rebounds, but shot 49% to NOP's 52%, 10 of 40 from three, and got to the line just 12 times against 20 fouls committed. The glass went 51-39 for them. Jokić led with 26 (10 of 20, 1 of 8 from three); Braun added 25, Porter Jr. 18. Q3 was theirs, 33-26, the deficit cut from 16 to 9, but the other 3 periods went 89-77 against them. Strawther's -16 in 8 minutes was the worst on the floor.
11/19 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 28 free throws a game; Mitchell at 24 and LeVert at 20 a game. Without Okoro (6 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 110, shooting 49 percent and 31 from three, 21 free throws a game; Jokić at 33 and Porter Jr. at 18 a game. Without Murray (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the arc, Cleveland at 37 percent from three to Denver's 31 and the line, where Cleveland takes 28 free throws a game to Denver's 21. Call it Cleveland 113, Denver 112, Denver keeping it close.
11/20 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 122, shooting 46 percent and 31 from three, 24 free throws a game; Cunningham at 16 and Burks at 14 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Duren (4 straight), Livers (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 21 free throws a game; Jokić at 29 and Porter Jr. at 18 a game. Without Murray (6 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Denver wins, on the road, and the game turns on the turnovers, Detroit giving it away 17 times a game to Denver's 11 and the defense, Denver allowing 111 a night to Detroit's 122. Call it Denver 114, Detroit 111, Detroit keeping it close.
11/22 @ ORL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 108, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 27 free throws a game; Banchero at 20 and F. Wagner at 18 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Carter Jr. (9 straight), Fultz (6 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 20 free throws a game; Jokić at 24 and Porter Jr. at 18 a game. Without Murray (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Orlando wins, and the game turns on the line, where Orlando takes 27 free throws a game to Denver's 20. Call it Orlando 111, Denver 108, Denver keeping it close.
11/24 @ HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 105, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Sengun at 22 and Ja. Green at 18 a game. Without Thompson (9 straight), Whitmore (7 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 114, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Jokić at 23 and Porter Jr. at 18 a game. Without Murray (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Houston allowing 105 a night to Denver's 114 and the arc, Denver at 37 percent from three to Houston's 33. Call it Houston 111, Denver 108, Denver keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
JP J. Pickett
JS J. Strawther
JO Jokic
KC K. Caldwell-Pope
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RJ R. Jackson
ZN Z. Nnaji
NOPBI B. Ingram
CZ C. Zeller
DD D. Daniels
HJ H. Jones
JH J. Hawkins
JV J. Valančiūnas
MR M. Ryan
NM N. Marshall
VA Valanciunas
ZW Z. Williamson
DEN/NOP the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Williamson and Ingram come through late to lift Pelicans past Nuggets 115-110
NEW ORLEANS -- — New Orleans stars Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram helped put Denver in a 20-point hole and also came through in the final minutes to stop Nikola Jokic and Co. from climbing all the way back.
Williamson scored 26 points, Ingram had 21 and the Pelicans held on for a 115-110 victory over the Nuggets on Friday night after Denver had pulled within a single point with 4:01 to play.
“We understand who we're playing,” Ingram said of the defending NBA champions. "We didn't want it to get all the way to that point, but we had to stay poised."
Williamson and Ingram each scored twice during a late 8-0 run and the Pelicans held on after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope , Reggie Jackson and Aaron Gordon each missed 3-point shots for a tie game during the same possession in the final 30 seconds.
The ball went out of bounds off Denver with 15 seconds left after Gordon's miss, and Herb Jones hit two free throws for New Orleans after being fouled on an inbound pass with 13.5 seconds remaining.
“Me and B.I. definitely got it going when we needed to,” Williamson said. “The more that we are on the court together, the better we get.”
Jonas Valanciunas scored 22 to help New Orleans win its second straight NBA In-Season Tournament game, improving the Pelicans' record in West Group B to 2-1 and leaving Denver with the same mark. New Orleans could have a chance to win its bracket against the Clippers in Los Angeles on Nov. 24.
Williamson said the Pelicans were pleased to have kept themselves in the running to advance and possibly even go on to win the $500,000-per-player prize that goes to the tournament champions.
“That's something that you can give to family members or whatever you plan on doing with it. I think that's good motivation," Williamson said. “But also, for us, we haven't won nothing. So, I think that would be like a starter step for us, trying to go and win that.”
Nikola Jokic had 26 points, tied a career high with 18 assists and grabbed 16 rebounds for the Nuggets, who never led in the game. Christian Braun scored 24 points and Michael Porter Jr . added 18 points and 11 rebounds.
New Orleans led by as many as 20 points when Ingram's back-to-back 3s made it 82-62 in the middle of the third quarter.
But the Nuggets responded with three straight 3s — one each by Braun, Jokic and Caldwell-Pope — and trailed 95-86 after three periods.
“My main theme of this game is that we cannot build ourselves a hole like that, knowing that we are going to get the best of everybody,” Nuggets coach Mike Malone said. “Everybody wants to beat the defending champions.”
“I really applauded the effort in the second half,” Malone added. “I just want that to be closer to 48 minutes, if possible.”
Denver remained within single digits throughout the fourth and pulled to 103-102 when Braun scored on a putback and a layup on successive possessions.
That's when Williamson and Ingram took over, starting with the latter's mid-range jumper. Williamson followed with a finger roll and then a floater while being fouled to make it 109-102. Williamson missed the free throw, but Dyson Daniels rebounded and New Orleans swung the ball to Ingram for another mid-range jumper to make it 111-102 with 1:50 to go.
Naji Marshall scored 12 points on four 3s for New Orleans, and Daniels finished with 10. Gordon and Jackson each scored 14 for Denver.