Murray and Jokic Erase 29-Point Hole, Denver Survives 141-135
New Orleans led Denver 53-30 midway through the second quarter and still lost. Jamal Murray's 42 points and Nikola Jokic's 35-point, 15-rebound, 10-assist triple-double powered the most improbable comeback of opening weekend.
The first quarter belonged entirely to New Orleans. Denver opened the scoring — Aaron Gordon draining a 25-footer off a Jokic feed — but the Pelicans answered and kept answering. Trey Murphy III caught fire, Dejounte Murray attacked the paint repeatedly, and Jordan Poole buried a 24-foot three at the buzzer to send New Orleans into the second quarter up 38-24. The Pelicans didn't stop there. Zion Williamson converted an alley-oop, Saddiq Bey knocked down a 22-footer, and Karlo Matkovic added a 26-foot three to push the lead to 53-30. At that point, Denver looked cooked.
It wasn't. What followed was the Jokic-Murray show in its most ruthless form. Denver chipped, clawed, and eventually overtook a New Orleans team that appeared to run out of answers as the game wore on. The biggest single moment came late: when Dejounte Murray made a free throw in the fifth period, the home win probability swung from 83% to 72% — an 11-point swing on a single foul shot that signaled Denver was genuinely back in it. Murray finished with 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists for New Orleans, and Trey Murphy III added 26 points, but the Pelicans couldn't hold what should have been an untouchable advantage. Derik Queen contributed 17 points and 8 rebounds off the bench, which looks like a promising debut, but it wasn't enough.
For Denver, Jamal Murray was the engine of the comeback — 42 points, 6 assists, doing damage from everywhere on the floor. Jokic's triple-double (35 pts, 15 reb, 10 ast, 4 blk) was the kind of performance that makes a 29-point deficit feel manageable when he's on the court. Seven Denver players sat out as coach's decisions, meaning this was far from a full roster, which makes the result even more striking. New Orleans had the game. They had the lead, the momentum, and the bodies. Denver had Jokic and Murray, and in the end that was the difference. Final: DEN 141, NO 135.