The Denver Nuggets defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 107-102 in their season opener Wednesday at Smoothie King Center.
After holding a 12-point lead at halftime and a 10-point lead headed into the final quarter, the Nuggets (1-0) were able to hold off a surging Pelicans (0-1) team that got the game to within two points with just over two minutes remaining. Denver point guard Emanuel Mudiay scored the final five points for the Nuggets as they were able to play spoiler on New Orleans All-Star Anthony Davis’ career night.
Davis filled up every single category on the stat sheet, recording 50 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, seven steals and four blocks over 41 minutes in what was an unbelievable way to start the season for the big man. Davis scored nearly half of his team points and outscored the rest of the starting lineup by 21 points, as he single-handedly kept the Pelicans in the game. New Orleans’ next highest scorer was starting point guard Time Frazier, who managed 15 points on top of 11 assists in 37 minutes. E’Twaun Moore, who scored 10, was the only other player in double figures for the Pelicans.
For Denver, Jusuf Nurkic led the way with a team-high 23 points on an efficient 9-of-13 shooting from the field on top of nine rebounds. Starting shooting guard Will Barton wasn’t far behind, scoring 22 points of his own in 35 minutes. Mudiay struggled in the debut of his sophomore season, shooting just 2-of-8 from the field for 11 points on top of managing just three assists. In the end, the game was won on the glass, as the Nuggets managed to out-rebound the Pelicans 58-34 on the night.
The Nuggets will head home Saturday to take on the Trail Blazers, while the Pelicans will stay at home Friday and go up against the Warriors.
