The Denver Nuggets continued their dominate play at the Pepsi Center Monday night with a 116-111 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.

Jamal Murray got the Nuggets offense going with the games first five points after a crafty lay in and three-point jumper. Even after making their first attempt from distance, the three point shoots still weren’t falling for Denver as they shot just 3-10 from three in the first quarter.

Coming into the game, Denver was 29th in the NBA with a three-point percentage of 29.2. That trend sadly continued on Monday, as the Nuggets starting unit came out of the gate with no cohesion offensively. Because of that, the Pelicans had a 13-9 lead midway through the first quarter forcing Michael Malone to sub in most of his bench unit earlier than usual.

The Nuggets sloppiness continued though, as the Pelicans took a 24-20 lead going into the second quarter. Murray led the Nuggets offensively with seven first quarter points on 3-6 shooting, while Denver as a whole shot just 7-18 from the field.

Murray continued to be the Nuggets offensive spark going into the second quarter though as he opened the period with a wicked three-point jumper.

That three gave him his second of the night and pushed his point total to 10 with almost three full quarters remaining. Murray’s offense rubbed off on Monte Morris, whose three-pointer early in the second quarter tied the game up at 26.

Morris continued to play well off the bench, following that three with a lay up in transition and two steals on the defensive end of the floor. Morris and the Nuggets bench unit did a solid job keeping the game at bay, as Denver had a 34-32 lead midway through the second quarter.

With the starters back in, the chemistry that was desperately lacking in the first quarter was finally back. A Nikola Jokic three-pointer with 3:30 remaining in the second gave the Nuggets a five point lead and a bit of a spark before halftime.

Jokic’s spark would lead to a 22-9 Denver run to end the first half as the Nuggets would take a 58-45 lead into the halftime locker room. After struggling to score in the first quarter, Denver outscored New Orleans 38-21 in the second to give them a double-digit lead at halftime.

Murray led the Nuggets with 15 first half points capping off the first half run with an and-1 lay up to give Denver all the momentum at half. Jokic wasn’t far behind with 10 points, five assists, and four rebounds. While Lyles poured in 11 points giving Denver a solid contribution off the bench.

Nine quick points to start the third quarter gave the Nuggets their largest lead of the night at 17 as they continued to play solid on both ends of the floor. Everything was working for the Nuggets offensively, that even the three-pointers started to fall. With eight minutes remaining in the third, Denver already had nine threes with Jokic, Murray, and Paul Millsap all having two apiece.

In what ended up being a highly competitive third quarter, the Nuggets still took an 84-76 lead going into the fourth. New Orleans outscored Denver 31-26 in the third riding the solid play of Julius Randle, who had 22 points off the bench through three quarters.

The Pelicans comeback continued to start the fourth quarter, as they got the Nuggets lead down to four with 8:30 remaining in the game. Denver answered back though, finding a way to stretch their lead back to nine with 6:49 left in the game. The biggest reason for that, the play of Garry Harris. After drilling a three to beat the shot clock buzzer, Harris gave the Nuggets a much needed spark in the fourth quarter.

The Pelicans refused to go away though going on a 7-0 run to shrink the Nuggets lead down to two with just over five minutes remaining. In stepped Malik Beasley, who scored five straight points during a 7-0 Nuggets run to push Denver’s lead back to 103-94 with 2:53 left in the game.

Beasley’s spark off the bench was huge for the Nuggets as he contributed 12 points, six rebounds, and two assists. The spark Beasley provided was the added boost Denver needed coming away with a 116-111 victory over the Pelicans.

Stat leaders for the Nuggets were Jokic, who finished just shy of his second triple-double of the season with 12 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds. Harris and Murray finished as the teams leading scorers with 23 points, while Lyles wasn’t far behind with 17 points off the bench.

The win gives Denver a 4-0 record at home this season and a 5-1 record overall. The Nuggets now have a day off tomorrow before they’re back in action Wednesday night in Chicago to face the Bulls.