Pelicans interim coach James Borrego seeks 'players' spirit' vs. Nuggets

Two games into James Borrego's head-coaching stint for New Orleans, the Pelicans are still struggling.

The team might continue down that path when it hosts the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

Borrego replaced the fired Willie Green on Saturday after New Orleans started the season 2-10. Borrego's first two games as interim coach have been blowout losses at home to Golden State and Oklahoma City.

The Pelicans have lost six games in a row, including four on the homestand that will end Wednesday night. They have not been at full strength, as oft-injured starter Zion Williamson has missed the last eight games with a hamstring strain. Jordan Poole has averaged 17.3 points in the seven games he has played in but is out with a left quad strain.

In the five games Williamson has played, he has been a force. His averages 22.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game lead the team.

Trey Murphy ranks second on the Pelicans with 19.7 points per game while rookies Jeremiah Fears (15.3) and Derik Queen (10.4) have been bright spots in a disappointing New Orleans season.

Borrego, who was the head coach for Charlotte for four seasons (2018-22), didn't get a chance to hold a practice before his first two losses with New Orleans because those games were back-to-back Sunday and Monday. Nonetheless, he said he saw encouraging signs in the 126-109 loss to the Thunder.

"We're going to have to fix the X's and O's along the way, but right now the players' spirit trumps all," Borrego said. "It's the belief, the confidence, the trust. We're not there yet. We have a ways to go, but I've seen stretches of it."

Denver enters Wednesday night's game after an unexpected home loss to Chicago on Monday night. The Bulls had played a double-overtime game Sunday night, but they looked like the more energized team in ending the Nuggets' seven-game winning streak and handing them their first home loss of the season.

Nikola Jokic continued his dominant season with his eighth triple-double -- 36 points, 18 rebounds and 13 assists -- and is making a strong case for his fourth MVP. He averages 29.2 points while leading the NBA in rebounding (13.4 rpg) and assists (11.1 apg).

Jamal Murray ranks second on Denver in scoring at 23.1 points a game and Aaron Gordon sits third (19.9).

The one bright spot from Monday's loss was Cameron Johnson's night. He missed the previous game with a right biceps strain but returned to score a season-high 19 points and shoot 5-for-7 from 3-point range. In his first 11 games, he made just 8 of 38 shots (21%) from beyond the arc.

"Shots go in, sometimes they don't," Johnson said. "If you only judge games based off of shots going in, you're going to have a hard time a lot of the time."

The Nuggets will still not have guard Christian Braun (left ankle sprain) available. He's expected to be out for at least another month. Peyton Watson has moved into the starting lineup in Braun's absence and had three blocks against Chicago.

--Field Level Media