The Denver Nuggets have two wins in the 2026-27 season through four games, and both have come against the New Orleans Pelicans. However, these two wins came in drastically different ways.

In their first matchup, the Nuggets could not play defense for the first three quarters, having to claw their way out of a 23-point hole to force overtime and ultimately pull out a win, but still allowed 135 points to the Pelicans. In Wednesday's matchup, however, it was much more defensively focused. The Nuggets controlled the entire game and only allowed 91 points, their best of the season.

Defense has been an obvious concern for the Nuggets early in the season, allowing 135 points to the Pelicans and 134 points to the Golden State Warriors, but they showed some promising improvement in Wednesday night's win. Head coach David Adelman talked about what was working for them in New Orleans.w

"I thought our rotations were really good, but I thought the intensity to stop the ball earlier—if you don't touch anybody until the paint, you're in trouble. We don't block a lot of shots. Our team has to be reliant on each other. It was just strides in the right direction, you know, [it's] game four, so it was good to see," Adelman said.

Denver's defense obviously stepped up against the Pelicans, and in a game where they barely reached 100 points offensively, this defensive performance came in clutch.

Stepping up when it matters

The Nuggets have still had some rough defensive outings this season, but in both of their wins, the defense stepped up when it mattered most. In their first win over the Pelicans, New Orleans scored 35+ points in each of the first three quarters, but was held to just 18 points in the fourth. In Wednesday's win, the Pelicans were held to 18 points in each of the first and fourth quarters.

"18 points in the first, 18 in the fourth. Those are really good numbers," Adelman said. "Obviously, that's led to the two wins we've had have been three really good defensive quarters. I think all the other stuff will come, but I was really proud of the young guys too. When you're 1-2, there's a sense of urgency early in the season to get a win. You've got a couple of rookies out there, and I thought they were really good."

Adelman gives a special shoutout to the Nuggets' rookies, Trevon Brazile and Bryce Hopkins, for stepping up. Brazile earned his first career start on Wednesday night after proving what he is capable of in their first three games, and his defensive presence might've been exactly what Denver's starting lineup needed.

We hope the Nuggets can build on this defensive performance and be more consistent on that end moving forward, and getting guys like Spencer Jones, Cameron Johnson, and Alpha Diallo back in the lineup will help tremendously.