A frantic finish saw the Pelicans fall short in the final seconds on the road against the Nuggets on Wednesday, 114-112.
Trailing 109-96 with 3:18 left on the night, New Orleans looked set for another frustrating loss. However, the Pelicans closed the game on a 16-5 run that nearly allowed them to steal a win against Denver.
Brandon Ingram’s 3-pointer and Eric Bledsoe’s layup after a Lonzo Ball steal cut the lead down to single digits with 1:48 left. Nikola Jokic split a pair of freebies before Ball buried a 3-pointer with 43.8 seconds left.
The key sequence of the final minute saw Ball force a steal of Michael Porter Jr. before Ingram dunked over Jokic to cut the lead down to 110-106 with 38.7 left. Bledsoe would bank in a 3-pointer after two Denver free throws and Ingram would answer a Porter dunk with another 3-point to close the lead to 114-112 with 9.9 seconds left.
In the decisive moment of the game, the Nuggets turned the ball over on the inbound, Ingram drove down the middle of the lane before finding Williamson who was blocked by Jokic in a controversial final play to effectively end the game.
Ingram had 27 points, Williamson had 21 and Ball had a triple-double of 16 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds.