Item 1 of 56 Jan 13, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears warms up before a game against the Denver Nuggets at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
[1\/56]Jan 13, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears warms up before a game against the Denver Nuggets at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab<\/a><\/p>\n January 14 – Jamal Murray collected 35 points and nine assists and Peyton Watson added 31 points and seven rebounds, lifting the visiting Denver Nuggets to a 122-116 victory over the reeling New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.<\/p>\n Murray made five 3-pointers in his return from a two-game absence caused by an ankle injury as well as an illness.<\/p>\n Watson, the reigning Western Conference Player of the Week, sank 11 of 16 shots from the floor to send Denver to a fourth win in its last five games.<\/p>\n Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 18 points off the bench for the short-handed Nuggets, who completed a three-game season sweep of New Orleans despite being dominated on the interior. Denver was outrebounded by a 51-32 margin and outscored 56-38 in the paint.<\/p>\n New Orleans’ Trey Murphy III scored 31 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor. Saddiq Bey had 17 points and Jordan Poole added 16 off the bench for the Pelicans, who have lost 11 of their past 12 games.<\/p>\n Murphy’s driving layup forged a 114-114 tie with 1:02 remaining in the fourth quarter before Watson sank a turnaround jumper on the ensuing possession to regain the lead for the Nuggets.<\/p>\n Murphy and Zion Williamson failed to convert from in close before Denver’s Aaron Gordon dunked with 10.8 seconds remaining to essentially seal the win.<\/p>\n Williamson converted a three-point play to stake New Orleans to a 100-94 lead early in the fourth quarter before Denver responded by scoring the next seven points. Jalen Pickett sank a 3-pointer and added a layup during that sequence.<\/p>\n Early in the second quarter, Hardaway made three consecutive free throws to increase the Nuggets’ lead to 35-31 before the Pelicans answered with a 19-6 run. Watson countered by scoring 13 of his team’s next 17 points to pull Denver within 62-58 with 40 seconds remaining in the second quarter.<\/p>\n The Pelicans were up 65-60 at the break.<\/p>\n –Field Level Media<\/p>\n Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab<\/a><\/p>\n