The Great Reversal! The first place in the West is standing, Jokic hit 35+14+12, and Zion cut a triple-double

The NBA regular season is in full swing, and the defending champion Nuggets are hosting the Pelicans. Although the Nuggets have lost Brown and Jeff Green, two major bench attackers this season, the integrity of the starting lineup still gives them an absolute competitive advantage in the West. On top of that, the Nuggets haven't had any major injury impacts, however, Murray will miss the Pelicans game. So far, they have only lost to the Timberwolves, with a 6-1 record and firmly in the first place in the West. Core Jokic averaged just 33.6 minutes per game, scoring 27.4 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 7.9 assists. Aside from a slight lack of bench depth, the Nuggets have few weaknesses when the roster is complete.

On the other side, the Pelicans finally welcomed Ingram's return, but they still lost by double-digit points in their last game against the Hawks. However, so far this season, the Pelicans have only lost to the Warriors and Hawks, and they still sit in fourth place in the West with a 4-2 record. This is due to Zion's health, averaging 22.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in 31 points per game, the only flaw is that he does not score from the outside, but his offensive basket is extremely high. However, the most surprising ones are Hawkins and Ryan, who have made a huge contribution to the Pelicans from the outside. Both sides started the game, with the Nuggets fielding Jokic, Porter Jr., Gordon, Pope and Reggie Jackson. The Pelicans are Hawkins, Ingram, Zion, Valanciunas and Jones.

At the beginning of the first quarter, Valanciunas scored 4 points in a row under the basket, and Jokic also scored 4 points in a row. Hawkins hit a solid shot from the outside, and Ingram scored six points in a row from mid-range. Nuggets Gordon seized the opportunity to cut in the air, and the scores of the two sides were urgently bitten. The Pelicans bench Ryan suddenly broke out, hitting two three-pointers from the outside, the Nuggets took a timeout to adjust, and Jokic came back to take over the game and scored 8 points in a row. The Pelicans relied on Wallan's size advantage to score a basket, and Lewis also scored a layup off the bench. At the end of the first quarter, the Nuggets trailed the Pelicans by two points at 25-27.

In the second quarter, Pelicans Ryan hit a solid three-point shot, and Hawkins followed up from the outside. The Pelicans extended their advantage to 10 points in one fell swoop, and this was not over, the Pelicans were on fire from the outside, Daniels, Hawkins, Nance Jr., and Ryan hit 5 three-pointers in a row, and the difference once widened to 20 points. The Nuggets changed their strategy of attacking the interior, and the substitute Strawther suddenly broke out at the end of the period, hitting 3 three-pointers in a row, and Jokic followed up with 2 three-pointers, and the Nuggets struggled to stabilize the situation. Porter Jr. scored back-to-back breakaways, Gordon scored on a layup, and at halftime, the Nuggets trailed the Pelicans by 12 points, 59-71.

In the halftime, Jokic had 22 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists on 9-of-16 shooting. Porter Jr. had 11 points and four rebounds. Gordon had nine points, eight rebounds and two assists. Strausser 9 points. On the Pelicans' side, Zion had six points, four rebounds and seven assists on 3-of-6 shooting. Ingram had 14 points, 1 rebound and 3 assists. Hawkins had 16 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Ryan 13 points.

In the second half of the game, the Pelicans Hawkins continued to feel on the outside, and Gordon and Pope attacked the basket one after another. Porter Jr. and Reggie hit two consecutive three-pointers to catch the Pelicans off guard, directly narrowing the gap to 5 points. Pelicans Ingram scored four straight points on a breakaway basket to stabilize the advantage. The Nuggets still relied on Gordon, Porter Jr., and Jokic's size advantage to hit the paint area continuously, and Jokic scored 7 points in a row to lead the team to a wave of 19-4 strong comeback. At the end of the period, Nuggets Pope and Gilles hit two three-pointers to continue to expand the advantage, and Zion scored six points in a row at the last minute and struggled to chase the points. With Nance Jr. adding a dunk, the third quarter ended with the Nuggets leading the Pelicans by seven points at 99-92.

At the decisive moment of the final quarter, the Nuggets, who had found their rhythm, took advantage of the victory to chase after it. Pelicans outside Hawkins sought stability in the chaos, hitting two three-pointers and scoring eight points in a row. But the Nuggets bench Strawser was even better, hitting two three-pointers in a row and scoring 12 straight points in response. Helped the Nuggets directly establish a double-digit lead, and no one on the Pelicans' side except Hawkins could step up and score. Gordon scored four more points in back-to-back cuts, and Zion and Ingram finally recovered in the final five minutes, scoring 10 straight points. However, on the Nuggets' side, Pope hit another three-pointer, and Jokic continued to fire and scored 6 points in a row, directly killing the game. In the end, the Nuggets defeated the Pelicans 134-116, reversed the 20-point difference in the second half, and finally won by 18 points, and the Nuggets reversed by a total of 38 points!

Stats for the game: Jokic finished with 35 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists on 15-of-24 shooting. Porter Jr. finished with 22 points, nine rebounds and three assists on 8-of-16 shooting. Gordon had 15 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Strawther had 21 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. Pope 15 points. For the Pelicans, Hawkins had 31 points, seven rebounds and three assists on 10-of-19 shooting. Ingram had 22 points, 2 rebounds and 5 assists. Zion finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists on 10-of-22 shooting. Ryan 17 points.