Led by an all-time great basketball player ascending in the history books and a fresh-faced rookie trying to climb to the top of a scorebook for the first time, the Nuggets mounted a comeback thrilling enough to let fans forget about who was missing for a couple of hours.
Nikola Jokic registered his 108th career triple-double in his 604th game, Julian Strawther caught fire for 21 crucial points, and the Nuggets rallied from a 20-point deficit to beat the Pelicans 134-116 on Monday night at Ball Arena.
Denver (7-1) remains perfect at home this season with the Warriors coming to town Wednesday.