Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets arrived in New Orleans in the midst of a stretch where they had won 13 of their last 17 contests, buoying a 34-15 record that was as good as any 50-game start the franchise has ever had.
Despite this, the abundantly short-handed Pelicans, playing on the second night of a back-to-back, kept the game within reach for its entirety before finally falling by a score of 105-99, dropping their record to 23-29.
Jokic was a catalyst from the opening tip, producing at a level that used to be shocking, but has now become commonplace for the legitimate MVP candidate.