Anthony Davis put up 31 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Pelicans to a 115-90 victory over the Nuggets.
New Orleans was without DeMarcus Cousins, who was sidelined with an ankle injury. The Pelicans have won four of their last five.
Mason Plumlee had 16 points and six rebounds off the bench for Denver, which is now tied with Portland for the final playoff spot in the West. Gary Harris and Jamal Murray netted 13 apiece in defeat.
New Orleans improved to 3-0 without Cousins in the lineup since trading for him. It marked the 45th double-double this season for Davis, who only played 28 minutes. Davis rested the entire fourth quarter after the Pelicans built up an 87-59 lead by the end of the third quarter.
“We started out the game and we had like three or four mistakes but after that I thought we locked in and from a game plan standpoint, I thought we were great," Alvin Gentry said. "Offensively, we did a really great job of moving the basketball. The defense won the game, let’s tell it like it is. We were great defensively.”
The Pelicans see action in Utah tonight. The Jazz secured a playoff spot on Sunday and are clinging to a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Clippers in the battle for the Western Conference fourth seed.
For now, New Orleans (31-42) trails the Nuggets by four games for the eighth seed with nine games left. An upset win over Utah would go a long way toward closing that gap.
Momentum favors New Orleans going into this latest battle with the Jazz. The Pelicans have won six of their past eight, while Utah has dropped three of its past four.