Jamal Murray scored 24 of his 35 points in the second half, Peyton Watson added 31 and the Denver Nuggets held off the New Orleans Pelicans 122-116 on Tuesday night in the Smoothie King Center.
Tim Hardaway Jr. added 18, Aaron Gordon and Jalen Pickett scored 16 each for the Nuggets (27-13), who played their eighth straight game without three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic, who leads the league in rebounding (12.2) and assists (11.0) and is fourth in scoring (29.6).
Trey Murphy scored 31, Saddiq Bey, returning from a six-game absence because of a right hip flexor strain, had 17, Jordan Poole had 16, Zion Williamson had 12, Derik Queen had 10 points and 13 rebounds and Jeremiah Fears scored 10 for the Pelicans (9-33), who host the Brooklyn Nets at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Herb Jones was sidelined for the 11th time in 12 games because of a right ankle sprain and Jose Alvarado missed his fourth consecutive game because of a left oblique strain.
The Pelicans scored the first six points of the third quarter to extend their lead to 71-60. Williamson went to the bench after committing his fourth foul with 6:15 left in the period and the Nuggets closed within four points.
Murphy’s layup and Bey’s tip-in doubled the lead, but Denver crept within three points three times, the last being 92-89 at the end of the third quarter.
Hardaway scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to produce the first of nine lead changes before Bey’s dunk tied the score at 112. Murray broke the tie with a jumper with 1:58 left.
Murphy scored on a drive to tie the score, but Watson made a jumper and Murray assisted on Gordon’s dunke to give the Nuggets a 118-114 lead with 10.8 seconds left.
The lead changed hands six times and the score was tied six times during the first quarter. Pickett broke the final tie by making a 3-pointer and the Nuggets held a 32-31 lead at the end of the period. Murphy had 12 points and Murray 11.
Hardaway made three free throws to start the second-quarter scoring, but Jordan Hawkins made two 3-pointers and Poole added one during a 19-6 run that gave New Orleans a 50-41 lead.
The Pelicans led by nine twice more before Gordon scored four points to help Denver trim the lead to 65-60 at the half.