New Orleans runs out of margin
The New Orleans Pelicans have played two games and lost both. Saturday night in Denver, on the second night of a back-to-back, they chase a first win under coach Jamahl Mosley.
Friday’s 120-119 loss at Utah was the sort that lingers. New Orleans trailed by 10 at halftime, outscored the Jazz 38-24 in the third quarter and led by five in the fourth. Dejounte Murray’s jumper at the buzzer would have won it and missed. The Pelicans were also cold from deep, going 10-for-30 in the opening loss to Indiana and 8-for-26 against Utah.
The bigger worry is the knee of Yves Missi. He hurt his left knee in the second quarter at Utah when Zion Williamson landed on his leg. “We’re going to get a look at it (Saturday) in Denver,” Mosley said.
no renewal
Free for 2 weeks.
Denver’s own bruises
The Nuggets are 0-1 after a rough opener at Oklahoma City, where they scored 84 points on 37.8 percent shooting. Cam Johnson left that game with an ankle injury. He told The Denver Post he does not think it is serious, though coach David Adelman called the move precautionary and added it “could turn out to be a serious thing.” Spencer Jones is out with a hamstring strain from training camp.
There were positives. Aaron Gordon played well, rookie Trevon Brazile pulled down 12 rebounds in his NBA debut, and DeMar DeRozan looked comfortable in his first game with Denver.
Williamson, who took only four threes all of last season, is 2-for-4 from deep so far. “It’s hard to win in this league,” he said. The sequel comes Wednesday in New Orleans.
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