New Orleans Pelicans @ Denver Nuggets
Monday, February 3, 2025 at 9:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO | Game ID: 22400706
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 33 35 25 32 125NOP 23 27 35 28 113
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Nikola Jokic's 23rd triple-double of the season leads Nuggets over Pelicans 125-113
DENVER -- — Michael Porter Jr . scored a season-high 36 points, Nikola Jokic added 27 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Denver Nuggets overcame a career-high 41 points from Trey Murphy III to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 125-113 on Monday night.
Jamal Murray had 20 points and eight assists while Julian Strawther scored 15 points off the bench for Denver. In his first start of the season, Zeke Nnaji , filling in for the injured Aaron Gordon , had a season-high 12 points.
The triple-double was Jokic’s NBA-best 23rd of the season and ninth in his past 11 games.
Murphy scored 39 of New Orleans’ first 85 points, helping the Pelicans, who trailed by as many as 20 points in the second half, get within eight entering the fourth quarter. Murphy made 13 of his 21 shots, including eight of his 12 3s, while the rest of his team shot just 37.3% from the field.
CJ McCollum scored 30 points and Zion Williamson added 14 for the Pelicans.
Takeaways Nuggets: Denver continued its rebound from a three-game losing streak, picking up its third consecutive victory and 11th win in its past 15 games to remain in fourth place in the Western Conference.
Pelicans: After a season-high four-game win streak offered some signs of hope, New Orleans had its sixth consecutive loss in an injury plagued season.
Key moment After a Murphy 3 tied the game at 21 in the first quarter, the Nuggets went on a 14-2 run and led for the rest of the night, with the Pelicans never getting closer than six.
Key stat With his career performance Monday, Murphy has averaged 37.7 points in his past three games while shooting 70.7% from the field and 63.6% from 3.
Up next The Nuggets and Pelicans will have a rematch on Wednesday in Denver.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
NOPAR A. Reeves
CM C. McCollum
JA J. Alvarado
JG J. Green
JH J. Hawkins
JR J. Robinson-Earl
KM K. Matković
MA Matkovic
TM T. Murphy III
YM Y. Missi
ZW Z. Williamson
DENCB C. Braun
DJ D. Jordan
HT H. Tyson
JM J. Murray
JP J. Pickett
JS J. Strawther
JO Jokic
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
ZN Z. Nnaji
NOP/DEN 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
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