Gallinari's three-pointer missed, and Jokic grabbed another defensive rebound.

He went to the frontcourt to orchestrate the offense again.

The Nuggets were clearly starting to defend his passes.

He turned and went past Nurkic. Hickson missed Aminu in front and didn't dare to help defend, so he directly laid the ball in for a score.

The point difference reached 7 points.

The Nuggets called a timeout.

Jokic received a warm cheer from his teammates as he left the court.

The Pelicans' point chase during this period relied entirely on Jokic.

Although Jokic wasn't as good at socializing as Dinwiddie, his chubby appearance was endearing, and his teammates all liked him.

Jokic sat down on the sidelines, panting heavily.

His weight was still too much, and he was consuming energy quickly, with the altitude making it even worse.

When the timeout ended, both sides made substitutions. The Pelicans brought on Tang Tian and Davis early, wanting to take advantage of the momentum to chase points.

The Nuggets also brought Lawson, Afflalo, and Mozgov into the game.

The Nuggets attacked first after the timeout.

After Lawson signaled his teammates to spread out, Mozgov set a pick-and-roll at the three-point line.

After the separation, he mismatched against Jokic, accelerated into the paint, and scored with a layup.

Shaw might have been a bit slow to react, but he did react and attacked Jokic's defense.

On the Pelicans' offense, Tang Tian held the ball at a forty-five-degree angle on the right side, with his teammates all spread out.

At this time, a different scene emerged compared to when Whiteside was on the court.

Because Jokic had a three-pointer, Mozgov was forced to defend at the three-point line, leaving the Nuggets' paint wide open!

Before the Nuggets' double-team could arrive, Tang Tian directly launched, rushing towards the basket in one step.

Afflalo couldn't keep up with the speed and watched as Tang Tian charged into the paint.

Tang Tian jumped high a meter away from the basket, delivering a one-handed slam dunk!

"Bang!"

This dunk was powerful and heavy, and the muffled sound was transmitted through the loudspeakers, causing a stir among the fans in the arena.

This kind of play has a significant impact on the morale of both sides.

Lawson went to the frontcourt and continued to look for Jokic. This time, the Pelicans didn't switch. Lawson got an open look, but his step-back three-pointer didn't go in.

Jokic grabbed another defensive rebound.

Tang Tian had already sprinted down the court when Lawson shot the ball.

And in the next second, Jokic's long pass came from the backcourt.

The biggest change in the small-ball era is the speed of transition between offense and defense, and Jokic, a big man who can pass, is an accelerator!

Tang Tian caught the ball and rushed to the basket, scoring with another two-handed slam dunk.

The point difference was only 5 points!

Jokic's performance during this period caught the Nuggets completely off guard.

Shaw was also a little dazed at this time.

Jokic was just a third-string center substitute on the Pelicans, and his sudden emergence caught him completely unprepared.

After being dunked on by Tang Tian several times in a row, the Nuggets' morale on the court was also greatly affected.

During a frontcourt play, Lawson made a passing error and was directly intercepted by Ariza.

Fortunately, the Nuggets retreated quickly, and the Pelicans' fast break didn't work out.

Cole dribbled the ball to the frontcourt and passed it to Tang Tian again.

The Nuggets double-teamed early. Tang Tian didn't pass the ball to the open Ariza but directly to Jokic at the arc.

Tang Tian now integrates shooting, passing, and driving to the basket. Playing with the ball in his hands suits him best, but doing so all the time consumes a lot of energy.

So occasionally switching offensive modes is a good choice for him.

After he passed the ball, he made an off-ball move, running out of the three-point line with Ariza's screen.

Jokic delivered the pass with anticipation.

Tang Tian caught the ball and shot a three-pointer.

"Swish!"

The basketball swirled through the air in an arc before going through the net cleanly!

The point difference came to 2 points!

After Tang Tian scored, he reached out and pointed in Jokic's direction.

He hadn't experienced this comfortable catch-and-shoot three-pointer since leaving the Spurs.

Holiday is a good defender and scorer, but his assist ability is indeed average.

In comparison, the ball that Jokic fed him was really comfortable.

The Pelicans had gained momentum.

The Nuggets' weaknesses began to be exposed. They had many scoring points, but when they fell into a scoring drought, they didn't know who should attack.

As a result, the Pelicans forced a 24-second violation on them after a series of possessions!

"Defense! Defense!"

The DJ at the scene felt that the momentum was not right and led the fans to shout and cheer for the home team.

Tang Tian took the ball and continued to drive to the basket. Mozgov collapsed to defend, and he passed the ball to Jokic at the arc.

Jokic shot another three-pointer.

"Clang!"

This time, the shot was a bit long, hitting the back of the rim and bouncing high.

Davis used his long arms to tip the ball to Tang Tian.

Afflalo and Hickson both rushed toward Tang Tian.

Tang Tian directly flicked the ball toward the arc.

Jokic got the ball again.

He adjusted and shot another three-pointer.

Mozgov couldn't get out and directly boxed out Davis to prepare for the rebound.

The ball flew in a high arc through the air.

"Swish!"

With a crisp sound, the basketball went through the net again!

Jokic hit his second three-pointer of the quarter!

Making the first three-pointer might have been luck.

Making the second one showed that he really had the ability to shoot three-pointers!

This three-pointer also put the Pelicans ahead!

Shaw reached out and called another timeout.

Jokic had really become his big problem tonight.

Jokic was once again cheered by the Pelicans players as he left the court.

He had a huge presence on the court in this quarter, making 3 of 4 shots and scoring 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists!

This efficiency was unmatched.

However, Williams had to substitute him at this time because his face was already a little pale.

When the timeout ended, Whiteside and Holiday were substituted into the game.

On the Nuggets' offense, Lawson's breakthrough was directly blocked by Whiteside head-on.

Jokic's outstanding performance gave Whiteside enough rest time and also gave him a lot of stimulation. He was quite excited at this time.

The Nuggets' offense didn't score, and Whiteside secured the defensive rebound.

The Pelicans attacked to the frontcourt, and Tang Tian passed to Ariza for a three-pointer in the double-team, but the latter's shot was off.

But Whiteside directly dunked the ball in over Mozgov!

The momentum of the game had completely shifted to the Pelicans' side.

Jokic's wave of performance allowed the Pelicans to regain their rhythm!

The Nuggets played well when they had momentum, but when they were in adversity, no one stood up, and the Pelicans began to take control of the situation.

In this quarter, the Pelicans outscored the Nuggets 35 to 10!

At the end of the first half, they went from trailing by 10 points in the first quarter to leading by 15 points!

This time, the altitude of the home court couldn't save the Nuggets.

In the end, relying on the wave in the second quarter, the Pelicans defeated the Nuggets 108-85 and won their first victory in December.

The Nuggets still had five players scoring in double figures, but Lawson, who scored the most, only had 15 points.

For the Pelicans, Tang Tian had 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, Davis had 16 points and 7 rebounds, and Whiteside had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

Jokic had an eye-catching performance. After returning to the court after half a month, he played 20 minutes and scored a near triple-double of 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists!

This visible talent!