What I Loved and Hated From Nuggets Overtime Win vs. Pelicans

The Denver Nuggets were concerningly close to dropping to 0-2 on the season. After going down by as many as 23 points in the first half against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night, the Nuggets stormed back to force overtime before ultimately pulling out a 141-135 win.

This was a far-from-perfect game for the Nuggets, but they certainly gave the Ball Arena crowd a treat in their 2026-27 home opener to secure their first win of the season. Crawling back from a 23-point deficit matched the Nuggets' third-biggest comeback in franchise history, and now they move on with an even 1-1 record.

With such a rollercoaster game, here are two things I loved about the performance and one thing I can certainly live without moving forward.

Loved: Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic

After struggling in the season opener, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray put together the performance we knew they had in them. The All-Star duo is one of the best in the league, and they proved it on Saturday night.

Murray led the way with 42 points and 6 assists on 12-25 shooting from the field and 8-16 from beyond the arc. Denver's offense had a slow start, but Murray was a significant bright spot all the way through. After dropping just 6 points in the season opener, this is more of what we wanted to see out of him.

Jokic had a typical MVP-caliber performance, dropping 35 points, 15 rebounds, 10 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks on 12-23 shooting. He still had a few moments, especially early on, where he looked a bit off, but he pieced together a great performance by the end of the game.

We obviously won't see them combine for 77 points every game, but this is the type of performance we are more used to seeing from the star tandem.

Loved: Trevon Brazile

What is there not to love about Trevon Brazile? The 23-year-old rookie had an incredible NBA debut with 4 points and 12 rebounds on Thursday, and he followed it up with an even better performance on Sunday night.

Brazile finished the game with 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks, shooting 6-11 from the field and 3-7 from beyond the arc. The second-round rookie finished the game alongside Denver's starters and came up huge on multiple possessions to help the Nuggets secure the comeback win.

It is very hard to imagine the Nuggets keeping Brazile out of the rotation when Spencer Jones returns from injury, so they might have to rework their plan to give him significant minutes. Even in just his second career game, it is clear he is a winning player.

The Nuggets are simply better with Brazile on the floor. His rebounding, defense, three-point shooting, and hustle are unmatched, and Adelman trusting him to finish the game and play all of overtime on Saturday night told us everything we need to know.

Hated: Three quarters of defense and rebounding

When the Nuggets went down by 23 and struggled to make a dent in New Orleans' lead until the fourth quarter, there was a lot to hate about Denver's performance. They were playing as bad as ever, but two things really stood out as huge weaknesses: defense and rebounding.

Of course, by the end of the game, this was less of a concern, but through the first three quarters, the Nuggets could not get a stop, and when they did, the Pelicans continued to beat them on the glass.

The Pelicans scored 35 or more points in each of the first three quarters, and Denver had no answer. New Orleans shot 80% on two-pointers through three quarters and won the rebound battle by 11. Trey Murphy III and Dejounte Murray were having their way with Denver's defense while the entire team effectively crashed the boards.

If it were not for the incredible fourth-quarter comeback, this would've been one of the most embarrassing Denver losses possible. Even with a win, though, Adelman knows exactly what the team needs to improve moving forward.

Sign up for our free Denver Nuggets On SI newsletter, and get breaking Nuggets news delivered to your inbox daily!