Beijing time, March 31, 2023, today's NBA game, the 51-24 Nuggets face the 38-38 Pelicans at home, the Nuggets are currently ranked first in the West, 3.5 wins ahead of the second-place Grizzlies (48-28), and the Grizzlies are unlikely to overtake the Nuggets. The Pelicans are currently ninth in the West, with the same record as the eighth-placed Lakers, 0.5 wins behind seventh-placed Timberwolves (39-38) and 0.5 wins ahead of the 10th-placed Thunder (38-39). If the Pelicans win today, they will outperform the Lakers.
Jokic of the Nuggets is absent in this game, he is sitting on the sidelines in a suit to watch, the Nuggets gave the news that his calf is uncomfortable, but the real reason for his absence may be these 2 reasons: First, tomorrow the Nuggets will play the Suns back-to-back, and Jokic reserves physical strength for this rotation. Second, the Nuggets' first place in the West is basically stable, even if they lose to the Pelicans, it doesn't matter, and the Pelicans will squeeze the Lakers out of the top eight positions after winning, and for the Nuggets, losing to the Pelicans may be a good choice.
Nuggets Bryant starts in place of Jokic, starting lineup: Murray + Pop + Porter + Gordon + Bryant. Pelicans Zion is out, starters: CJ + Jones + Warblers + Murphy + Varan .
In the first quarter, Varan made a layup, Murray made 3 of 3 free throws, Yingge, Murphy, Varan scored consecutive points, the Pelicans stopped the Nuggets 13-3, after the timeout came back, Gordon, Bryant, Porter, Pope scored, Yingge, CJ, Wallan responded, the difference was still 10 points, Nagy, Brown chased the difference to 4 points, and the Pelicans led 21-17 in the first quarter. Both teams failed to score three-pointers in the first quarter, with the Pelicans going 0-of-3 from three-point range and the Nuggets 0-of-7 from three-point range. Varan scored 9 points and 8 boards in the first quarter, and without Jokic, Varan became the dominant basket.
In the second quarter, Marshall, Varan and Murphy scored, Braun, Brown responded, the difference was 4 points, Murphy, Richardson shot three points, the difference expanded to 10 points, Green, Murray scored 5 consecutive points, Jones three points, Murray responded with three points, the difference was 5 points, Nance and Jones scored 5 points in a row, the difference returned to 10 points, Brown, Gordon scored, Murphy made 2 of 2 free throws, the difference was 9 points, Murray three points, Gordon layup, Yingge scored consecutive points in response, and the Pelicans led 50-40 at halftime.
Yingge had 14 points, 7 boards and 3 assists in the half, Varan 11 points and 9 boards, Murphy 10 points, Murray 12 points and 3 boards for the Nuggets, Gordon 6 points, 5 boards and 4 assists, Porter only scored 2 points on 1-of-9 shooting, and his hands were not good. Brown had 10 points and two boards and became a substitute.
In the third quarter of the game, Gordon made 1 of 2 free throws, Varan and Yingge responded, the Pelicans led by 13 points, Pope and Porter scored, CJ and Yingge responded, the point difference expanded to 15 points, Porter made a layup, CJ made three points, the difference reached 16 points, Murray, Porter chased the difference to 11 points, Yingge and CJ extended the difference to 16 points, Pope, Gordon, Murray scored, CJ, Yingge responded strongly, the difference was 18 points, Murray, Green, Brown chased the difference to 12 points, and the Pelicans led 82-70 in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter game, Marshall 2+1, Pelicans led by 15 points, Braun and Brown chased the difference to 9 points, Murphy three points, the difference was 12 points, Gordon dunked, Yingge 2 free throws, Green 2 free throws, Yingge layup, the difference was still 12 points, the game was 4 minutes and 46 seconds left, the Nuggets were suspended.
After the timeout came back, Murray missed a three-pointer, Gordon missed 2 free throws, Yingsong hit a shot, Green missed a layup, Nance hit 2 free throws, Porter dunked, CJ responded with a three-pointer, the Pelicans led by 17 points, there were more than 2 minutes left in the game, Brown hit 1 of 2 free throws, CJ missed three points, the difference was 19 points, with 1 minute and 40 seconds left in the game, the Nuggets withdrew the main player, and finally the Pelicans defeated the Nuggets 107-88.
The Warblers scored 31 points, 11 boards and 10 assists on 13-of-22 shooting, CJ had 3 assists for 23 points, Varan had 15 points, 12 boards and 4 assists, Murphy had 15 points, 2 boards and 3 assists, and Jones had 6 points and 7 boards.
Murray had 21 points, 4 boards and 7 assists on 6-of-15 shooting, Porter had 10 points and 3 boards on 5-of-15 shooting, Gordon had 11 points, 6 boards and 4 assists, Pope had 5 points, 4 boards and 3 steals, Bryant had 2 points and 3 boards, and the Nuggets starting five had 49 points and 20 boards. Brown had 19 points, five boards and four assists off the bench, and Braun had 11 points.
The Nuggets still ranked first in the West after losing, the Pelicans ranked ahead of the Lakers after winning, the Timberwolves came to the seventh in the West, the record is the same as the Timberwolves, the Timberwolves became eighth, the Lakers ninth, the Pelicans led the Lakers by 0.5 wins, and the Lakers became ninth in the West. For the Nuggets, it is certainly good to let the Lakers miss the playoffs, because the Lakers are the most popular team in the NBA, the lineup configuration is very strong, there are 2 superstars in the team, and the Lakers have far exceeded the opponent in the number of free throws per game in recent times, so no one wants to meet the Lakers in the playoffs. The Nuggets naturally hope to squeeze the Lakers out of the playoffs, and even if they can't, they hope that this time will make the rankings of the play-off area chaotic, so that opponents such as the Lakers will play for play-off spots and be consumed more.
The next five games for the Pelicans are: Home vs Clippers, Home vs Kings, Home vs Grizzlies, Home vs Knicks, and Road vs Timberwolves. The schedule is tough, but the Pelicans have a good record against the Clippers this season, beating the Clippers by 21 points in each of the two meetings, and the Knicks' Randle will not play in the regular season due to injury, and the Pelicans may be able to record well in the next games.
The Nuggets' next six games are: away vs suns, home vs warriors, away vs rockets, away vs suns, away vs jazz, home vs kings. The schedule is not easy, but as long as the Nuggets play normally, it should be no problem to maintain the first place in the West.