Jamal Murray ties it late, Nuggets make comeback at Pelicans

Any Nuggets comeback needs a touch of inspiration, and this one happened fittingly without Nikola Jokic on the floor. With 9:18 left in a game that Denver trailed 100-90, Julian Strawther was shot over away from the ball while Jamal Murray buried a 3-pointer.

An obvious mistake. A free throw to Strawther. A lob from Russell Westbrook to DeAndre Jordan. A six-point possession.

And finally, an improbable and needlessly grueling 132-129 overtime win over the Pelicans on Sunday night.

The Nuggets (15-11) have won five games this season after trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter. They were down 17 in this one late in the third frame. But Jokic finally came alive late, and Murray punctuated his 27-point, eight-rebound game with another clutch one-legged shot with eight seconds left to force overtime.

Final lineup change

Michael Malone learned from last time. On Thursday in Portland, the Trail Blazers took a timeout to set up their final shot after Jokic tied it with 15 seconds left. Denver’s lineup for the defensive possession: Murray, Westbrook, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Jokic. The result: Anfernee Simons blew by Westbrook and a remarkable lack of help defense for a layup at the buzzer.

With eight seconds left in New Orleans, Murray’s 20-footer locked the Nuggets and Pelicans at 119. Timeout, New Orleans.

Denver’s lineup for the defensive possession: Westbrook, Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Gordon and Jokic.

Porter had already been removed from the final lineup after a poor performance on both ends. But Malone made room for both Watson and Braun by trading Murray as well — by no means an indictment of the star guard’s play, but rather a sensible insertion of two impressive young perimeter defenders. Braun and Watson combined, with vital help from Westbrook, to get CJ McCollum for a hard shot at the buzzer.

Malone stuck with Westbrook and Braun in overtime while Porter remained on the bench. Braun played just 39 minutes (the second most on the team). Murray also contributed three steals, including a crucial one in the final minute of overtime.

Jokic largely to blame this time

There’s a valid line of thinking that depending on Jokic too much is dangerous to the Nuggets’ long-term prosperity. That too many minutes, too many touches and too many statistics in December is cause for caution, not celebration.

Even if that interpretation is correct, there is a baseline standard of aggressiveness for any team’s best player that Jokic didn’t come close to meeting on Sunday.

Especially against the centers New Orleans threw at him.

Until it was almost too late.

Jokic finished with 27 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists after not imposing on Yves Missi and Daniel Theis in a way that should have seemed obvious most of the night. He missed a few chances at the rim in a scoreless first quarter. So in the second and third combined, only two of his seven field goal attempts were within 10 feet. The other five were all jumpers from 13 feet or more. He attempted just five free throws.

On the defensive end — where Jokic is intuitive and often impressionable, despite the general perception of him — he was a big part of the problem as the Pelicans won the paint 14-6 in the third quarter. They stretched their lead to 91-74 at the 1:32 mark, blew by perimeter players and never felt Jokic’s presence level with screens or near the rim.

As fitting as it was that Denver found its spark without him, Jokic still proved crucial to the completion of the comeback. Once he committed to writing up, it was a one-sided game. He put up seven points in two minutes as Denver took the lead, then added six easy points to put the Pelicans on their heels at the start of overtime.