Christian Braun knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers during a critical late-game stretch as the Denver Nuggets held off the host New Orleans Pelicans 104-91 on Wednesday.
Denver never trailed winless New Orleans, thanks to an early onslaught.
Despite building a 22-point lead by the second quarter, however, the Nuggets needed to hold off the Pelicans deep into the fourth quarter.
Led by Zion Williamson, who scored a game-high 25 points, New Orleans pulled to within five points midway through the final period.
Denver allowed the Pelicans to get no closer, snuffing out the rally with a quick flurry of 3-pointers.
Jamal Murray quickly doubled the Nuggets’ lead, first knocking down a 3-pointer from the left corner before delivering a finger-roll layup on the next possession.
After Williamson followed his own miss to score on the other end, Braun — who had yet to connect on a 3-point attempt — answered with a triple off of a DeMar DeRozan assist.
DeRozan set up Braun again for another made 3-pointer a little more than a minute later, extending the Denver lead to 12 points and effectively putting the game away.
All five Nuggets players finished with double-digit points, led by Murray’s 23. Nikola Jokic recorded his second triple-double of the season — both against New Orleans — finishing with 21 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
Aaron Gordon registered a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds, Braun added 12 points and Trevon Brazile chipped in 11 points.
Despite a sluggish scoring performance, shooting just 1-of-6 from the floor, DeRozan provided key contributions down the stretch and finished with five assists and two steals.
Denver’s 12-of-31 3-point shooting (38.7%), buoyed by its five made triples in the fourth quarter, helped make the difference on a night New Orleans went a dismal 7-of-30 from long range (23.3%).
Derik Queen came off the bench to post a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds, but no other Pelican except for Williamson scored more than 11.
