NEW ORLEANS -- — Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 125-118 on Wednesday night.

Peyton Watson scored a career-high 32 points as Denver won for the eighth time in nine games. Jamal Murray had 14 points, including a pair of free throws with 31 seconds left.

Zion Williamson scored 14 points for New Orleans in 29 minutes in his return from a left hamstring injury that had sidelined him for eight games.

Rookie Derik Queen, who started opposite Jokic at center, scored a season-high 30 points to go with nine rebounds. He also helped cause Jokic to commit nine turnovers and foul out with 2:44 left.

Trey Murphy III added 23 points for the Pelicans, who lost their seventh straight and fell to 0-3 under interim coach James Borrego.

After trailing by as many as 19, New Orleans reduced its deficit to single digits in the final minutes, but former Pelican Jonas Valanciunas, who scored 14 points, hit a pair of clutch jumpers for the Nuggets.

Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears scored 16, giving the guard 11 or more points in all but one of New Orleans' 15 games this season.

Watson scored 11 of his points in the first six minutes of the second half, when the Nuggets widened their lead from 62-58 at halftime to 81-70.

That's when Jokic started to take over, hitting a putback layup, a 7-foot pull-up jumper and a 3 that made it 93-76.

With Williamson back in the starting lineup, the Pelicans raced to a 13-point lead when Herb Jones' 3 made it 23-10 in the first quarter. But Denver steadily erased its deficit and took the lead for good when Watson's 3 made it 51-49 with 3:02 left in the second quarter.

Up next

Nuggets: Visit the Houston Rockets on Friday night in NBA Cup West Group C play.

Pelicans: Visit the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night in NBA Cup West Group B play.

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Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Nikola Jokic vs. Derik Queen	0	0
11:50	Derik Queen personal foul	0	0
11:44	Nikola Jokic bad pass (Herbert Jones steals)	0	0
11:37	Derik Queen misses 9-foot two point shot	0	0
11:30	Peyton Watson defensive rebound	0	0
11:27	Nikola Jokic lost ball turnover (Herbert Jones steals)	0	0
11:21	Jeremiah Fears makes two point shot (Derik Queen assists)	2	0
10:54	Peyton Watson makes 3-foot layup (Jamal Murray assists)	2	2
10:34	Derik Queen misses driving floating jump shot	2	2
10:28	Peyton Watson defensive rebound	2	2
10:22	Peyton Watson makes 25-foot three point jumper (Nikola Jokic assists)	2	5
10:09	Zion Williamson makes 1-foot dunk (Herbert Jones assists)	4	5
9:52	Jamal Murray lost ball turnover (Zion Williamson steals)	4	5
9:49	Zion Williamson makes two point shot	6	5
9:43	Peyton Watson misses 25-foot three point jumper	6	5
9:43	Pelicans defensive team rebound	6	5
9:29	Derik Queen misses driving layup	6	5
9:28	Derik Queen offensive rebound	6	5
9:24	Derik Queen bad pass (Zeke Nnaji steals)	6	5
9:20	Jamal Murray makes 24-foot three point shot (Nikola Jokic assists)	6	8
9:09	Peyton Watson shooting foul	6	8
9:09	Trey Murphy III makes free throw 1 of 2	7	8
9:09	Trey Murphy III makes free throw 2 of 2	8	8
8:52	Peyton Watson misses 25-foot three point jumper	8	8
8:46	Derik Queen defensive rebound	8	8
8:41	Trey Murphy III makes 1-foot two point shot (Derik Queen assists)	10	8
8:28	Nikola Jokic bad pass (Trey Murphy III steals)	10	8
8:23	Jeremiah Fears misses 26-foot three point shot	10	8
8:20	Nuggets defensive team rebound	10	8
8:20	Herbert Jones loose ball foul	10	8
8:08	Jamal Murray misses 25-foot three point pullup jump shot	10	8
8:06	Zion Williamson defensive rebound	10	8
8:01	Zion Williamson makes 2-foot two point shot	12	8
7:42	Zeke Nnaji misses 22-foot three point jumper	12	8
7:38	Peyton Watson offensive rebound	12	8
7:36	Peyton Watson misses two point shot	12	8
7:34	Jeremiah Fears defensive rebound	12	8
7:31	Jeremiah Fears makes two point shot	14	8
7:31	Nuggets Full timeout	14	8
7:31	Yves Missi enters the game for Derik Queen	14	8
7:22	Cameron Johnson makes driving layup	14	10
6:57	Jeremiah Fears makes 6-foot driving floating jump shot (Yves Missi assists)	16	10
6:39	Peyton Watson bad pass (Trey Murphy III steals)	16	10
6:33	Zion Williamson misses two point shot	16	10
6:32	Yves Missi offensive rebound	16	10
6:32	Yves Missi makes tip shot	18	10
6:18	Jamal Murray bad pass (Trey Murphy III steals)	18	10
6:16	Jeremiah Fears misses two point shot	18	10
6:15	Yves Missi offensive rebound	18	10
6:15	Yves Missi makes dunk	20	10
5:57	Peyton Watson misses 25-foot three point jumper	20	10
5:54	Yves Missi defensive rebound	20	10
5:37	Zion Williamson misses driving layup	20	10
5:36	Yves Missi offensive rebound	20	10
5:34	Herbert Jones makes 26-foot three point jumper (Yves Missi assists)	23	10
5:20	Nikola Jokic makes 27-foot three point jumper (Jamal Murray assists)	23	13
5:09	Herbert Jones misses 24-foot three point jumper	23	13
5:05	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	23	13
5:01	Nikola Jokic out of bounds bad pass turnover	23	13
5:01	Saddiq Bey enters the game for Zion Williamson	23	13
5:01	Tim Hardaway Jr. enters the game for Peyton Watson	23	13
5:01	Bruce Brown enters the game for Zeke Nnaji	23	13
4:41	Jeremiah Fears misses 15-foot pullup jump shot	23	13
4:38	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	23	13
4:29	Nikola Jokic makes 4-foot driving floating jump shot (Bruce Brown assists)	23	15
4:23	Pelicans Full timeout	23	15
4:23	Jose Alvarado enters the game for Jeremiah Fears	23	15
4:23	Jordan Hawkins enters the game for Trey Murphy III	23	15
4:23	Spencer Jones enters the game for Jamal Murray	23	15
4:10	Herbert Jones makes 20-foot jumper (Jose Alvarado assists)	25	15
3:54	Nikola Jokic makes 5-foot two point shot (Tim Hardaway Jr. assists)	25	17
3:36	Yves Missi misses driving layup	25	17
3:34	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	25	17
3:31	Cameron Johnson makes two point shot (Nikola Jokic assists)	25	19
3:31	Yves Missi defensive goaltending violation	25	19
3:17	Jordan Hawkins makes 17-foot pullup jump shot (Herbert Jones assists)	27	19
3:04	Yves Missi shooting foul	27	19
3:04	Nikola Jokic makes free throw 1 of 2	27	20
3:04	Micah Peavy enters the game for Herbert Jones	27	20
3:04	Derik Queen enters the game for Yves Missi	27	20
3:04	Nikola Jokic misses free throw 2 of 2	27	20
3:00	Derik Queen defensive rebound	27	20
2:51	Jose Alvarado misses 27-foot three point jumper	27	20
2:50	Nuggets defensive team rebound	27	20
2:37	Derik Queen blocks Nikola Jokic 's 1-foot driving dunk	27	20
2:33	Saddiq Bey defensive rebound	27	20
2:30	Jordan Hawkins makes 21-foot running pullup jump shot (Saddiq Bey assists)	29	20
2:07	Nikola Jokic makes driving layup	29	22
1:56	Derik Queen lost ball turnover (Spencer Jones steals)	29	22
1:51	Bruce Brown makes 2-foot two point shot (Spencer Jones assists)	29	24
1:51	Pelicans Full timeout	29	24
1:51	Jamal Murray enters the game for Cameron Johnson	29	24
1:39	Spencer Jones personal foul	29	24
1:26	Jordan Hawkins misses 18-foot pullup jump shot	29	24
1:22	Nikola Jokic defensive rebound	29	24
1:19	Bruce Brown makes two point shot (Nikola Jokic assists)	29	26
1:12	Derik Queen lost ball turnover (Bruce Brown steals)	29	26
1:10	Nikola Jokic out of bounds bad pass turnover	29	26
1:09	Kevon Looney enters the game for Derik Queen	29	26
1:09	Spencer Jones shooting foul	29	26
1:09	Saddiq Bey misses free throw 1 of 2	29	26
1:09	Pelicans offensive team rebound	29	26
1:09	Saddiq Bey makes free throw 2 of 2	30	26
51.5	Jamal Murray misses 26-foot three point jumper	30	26
48.8	Jose Alvarado defensive rebound	30	26
28.7	Saddiq Bey offensive charge	30	26
28.7	Saddiq Bey turnover	30	26
13.2	Nikola Jokic misses 10-foot two point shot	30	26
10.2	Jose Alvarado defensive rebound	30	26
0.0	Saddiq Bey misses 23-foot three point jumper	30	26
0.0	Pelicans offensive team rebound	30	26
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	30	26

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

Smoothie King Center

New Orleans, LA

Date & Time

1:00 AM, November 20, 2025

Coverage

GCSEN, Pelicans.com, Altitude Sports, NBA League Pass

Attendance

16,484

Referees

James Capers, Ray Acosta, Pat O'Connell

2025-26 Northwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Oklahoma City	40	13	.755	L2
Denver	34	19	.642	W1
Minnesota	32	22	.593	L2
Portland	25	28	.472	W2
Utah	16	37	.302	L2

2025-26 Southwest Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
San Antonio	36	16	.692	W4
Houston	32	19	.627	W1
Memphis	20	31	.392	L2
Dallas	19	33	.365	L7
New Orleans	14	40	.259	W1

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Jokic's triple-double and Watson's career-high 32 points push the Nuggets past the Pelicans, 125-118

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