The Denver Nuggets rallied to win in extremely improbable fashion against the New Orleans Pelicans in the Big Easy on Sunday night after what was a pretty ugly first half.

The Nuggets won 132-129 in overtime with Nikola Jokic turning it on in the second half. He had 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists, with 21 of those points coming after the halfway mark. Jokic scored just six points in the first half and looked listless for Denver on both ends for a while, but a jumpstart in the fourth quarter gave the Nuggets new life. Jokic showed rookie Yves Missi exactly what he could do when the going got tough.

Jamal Murray hit a clutch jumper at the end of the fourth quarter to tie up the game, and the Nuggets forced a miss to send the game to overtime.

In the first half, the Nuggets racked up 11 turnovers, allowed 34 points in the paint, and 15 fast break points. Denver was beating themselves and not giving the requisite effort to win a basketball game, even against a 5-24 New Orleans Pelicans squad.

The turnovers never really got better, but the Nuggets defense finally engaged. Michael Porter Jr. was benched to close the game (though it wasn’t really his fault defensively) and the Nuggets were finally able to lock in.

Credit to Russell Westbrook, Peyton Watson, Julian Strawther, DeAndre Jordan, and Jamal Murray at the beginning of the fourth quarter. That run got Denver started, and it included what turned out to be a six-point play. Murray hit a transition three, then Javonte Green was assessed a flagrant foul trying to block out Strawther for a possible rebound. Strawther hit the free throw, then Westbrook threw a lob to Jordan for the jam.

From that moment on, it felt like the Nuggets had a chance. The Pelicans were still able to score, but the Nuggets offense went into hyperdrive for the second straight fourth quarter. When Jokic returned, he and Murray made play after play to give the Nuggets a brief lead.

The Pelicans had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, much like the Portland Trail Blazers did on Thursday night. Michael Malone made some key substitutions though and got all three of Westbrook, Watson, and Christian Braun on the floor. They combined to force a miss and force overtime.

From then on, it was Jokic and Murray, scoring or assisting on all 13 of Denver’s points in overtime. Denver locked in when they had to, got just enough stops, and made just enough free throws to escape New Orleans with a win.

So Much for Learning not to Procrastinate

On Thursday night, I wrote about the dangers of procrastination following the Nuggets near comeback victory against the Blazers. The hope was that the Nuggets would learn from their mistakes, going down one too many times against a bad team. I mean, why make life easy on yourself as a playoff contender when you can be lackadaisical through three quarters and expect to pull a win out in the end.

Obviously, the Nuggets haven’t learned from their mistakes. It’s possible they never will. They were down by as many as 17 points in this game. Jokic’s defense was appalling. The effort overall was poor. It was a painful watch.

That the Nuggets were able to come back shows there’s still some of that “championship gear” left in them. They’re never out of a game. They’ve proven that over and over again.

But true champions are the ones that do their work early, establish championship habits, and give themselves an opportunity to rest in the fourth quarter because of how hard they played in the first three.

That’s not what we’re seeing now. Denver’s not giving great effort. There are individuals who are trying to give great effort. I look to Christian Braun and Russell Westbrook as the leaders in that clubhouse. Jamal Murray is also really trying to lock in on that. He had a great game overall with 27 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four stocks and appears to be rounding into form.

There’s just a bit of a disconnect right now. Jokic’s effort waxes like stages of the moon. Gordon plays hard when he can but isn’t always pointed in the right direction. Porter has tried, but it’s clear there’s frustration there, and it got the better of him a bit tonight.

The reality of the situation is that the Nuggets still have so much time before they need to be at their best. The Western Conference is competitive, but the 2nd seed Memphis Grizzlies have nine losses. The Nuggets have 11. They’re not so far off the needed pace that they can’t fix things in time.

Of course, it still looks like there’s something they need to fix. It’s hard to quantify what it is when the effort isn’t there. Would effort simply solve all problems? Likely not.

Ultimately, effort would help though. Being relentless makes up for a lot of failings. It’s not the be-all end-all, but it’s a great baseline for success. Until the Nuggets give great effort consistently, it’s hard to take them too seriously.

But hey, maybe a back-to-back at home will be enough to satiate the team.

Final Rotations