Pelicans (31-42), Nuggets (35-38)
DENVER – On a Sunday when New Orleans absolutely had to get a win in its bid to remain part of the Western Conference playoff conversation, the Pelicans played one of their best games of the entire 2016-17 season, despite being without one of their two perennial All-Stars. DeMarcus Cousins (sprained right ankle) was sidelined as a result of an injury he sustained Friday at Houston, but the Pelicans made up for that absence in monumental fashion, dominating the eighth-place Nuggets.
Denver grabbed a 24-15 lead in the first quarter, but were ice-cold for an extended stretch from there, as New Orleans went up 55-40 by halftime.