The Denver Nuggets defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 99-98, at Smoothie King Arena on Tuesday night.

The Nuggets (34-14) put together an impressive first half of on the offensive end to take a 63-47 lead into halftime. However, the Pelicans (26-23) were able to knock seven points from their deficit during the third quarter and then battled all the way back to take a 98-97 advantage with 36.2 seconds remaining. However, Nikola Jokic, making his return from a two-game absence due to hamstring tightness, knocked in what would be the game-winning basket with 16.2 seconds left and both C.J. McCollum and Herbert Jones were unable to drain would-be go-ahead buckets in the closing seconds.

Jokic and Bruce Brown co-led the Nuggets with 25 points, with Jokic adding 11 rebounds and 10 assists and Brown also recording seven dimes and three steals. Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown each posted 11 points while pulling down four and two rebounds, respectively.

McCollum led the Pelicans with 20 points, supplementing them with four rebounds and four assists. Jose Alvarado delivered 17 points, three assists and one rebound. Jonas Valanciunas furnished 14 points, nine boards and one block. Willy Hernangomez managed 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal. Trey Murphy III and Larry Nance contributed matching 10-point, six-rebound efforts.

The Nuggets remain on the road and visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night, while the Pelicans host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night as well.