Final: Nuggets beat Pelicans 104-91

The Denver Nuggets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 104-91 Wednesday night at Smoothie King Center, and they never trailed. Denver scored 37 points in the first quarter, held New Orleans to 18, and led wire to wire. The Nuggets' lead got as big as 22 and the Pelicans never once got in front. Denver is now 2-2 and the Pelicans fall to 0-4.

This was the rematch of Saturday's wild 141-135 overtime win in Denver, where the Nuggets had to dig out of a 23-point hole. This one was the opposite. The game was basically decided in the first 12 minutes.

How it went: After the 37-18 first quarter, New Orleans won the second (27-20) and third (28-22) to cut into it, but Denver closed with a 25-18 fourth quarter to put it away. The Nuggets shared the ball well, with 30 assists on 37 made baskets, and were nearly perfect at the line at 18-for-19.

Jamal Murray led the way with 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting, including 5-of-11 from three, plus 6 assists. Nikola Jokic posted a triple-double with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists on 8-of-13 shooting and 5-of-5 at the line. He did have 7 turnovers. Aaron Gordon added a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Christian Braun scored 15 with 3 steals. Trevon Brazile gave Denver 11 points and 8 rebounds in 32 minutes.

Off the bench, Marvin Bagley III had 8 points and 5 rebounds, DeMar DeRozan had 6 points and 5 assists, and Tyus Jones scored 5.

Top Nuggets lines

• Jamal Murray: 23 PTS, 6 AST, 5-11 3PT
• Nikola Jokic: 21 PTS, 13 REB, 10 AST
• Aaron Gordon: 15 PTS, 11 REB
• Christian Braun: 15 PTS, 4 AST, 3 STL
• Trevon Brazile: 11 PTS, 8 REB

Team numbers: Denver shot 37-of-80 (46%), 12-of-31 from three (39%) and 18-of-19 from the line, with 11 steals and 5 blocks. New Orleans shot 34-of-82 (41%) and just 7-of-30 from three (23%). The Pelicans did win the paint 48-42 and had 19 fast-break points to Denver's 15, and Denver turned it over 18 times, so it wasn't a clean game.

For New Orleans, Zion Williamson was the problem all night with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Derik Queen added 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Jeremiah Fears scored 11. Nobody else got going, and the Pelicans' cold shooting from deep kept them from ever making a real run.

Our Take: After giving up 135 points on Saturday, this was the defensive answer Denver needed. Holding a team to 91 and 23% from three on the road is a good sign. The turnovers are still a problem, especially from Jokic, but a wire-to-wire road win gets the Nuggets back to .500.

Sources: ESPN box score