NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds, and the Denver Nuggets defeated the New Orleans Pelicans, 125-118, on Wednesday night, Nov. 19.

Peyton Watson scored a career-high 32 points as Denver won for the eighth time in nine games. Jamal Murray had 14 points, including a pair of free throws with 31 seconds left.

Zion Williamson scored 14 points for New Orleans in 29 minutes in his return from a left hamstring injury that had sidelined him for eight games.

Rookie Derik Queen, who started opposite Jokic at center, scored a season-high 30 points to go with nine rebounds. He also helped cause Jokic to commit nine turnovers and foul out with 2:44 left.

Trey Murphy III added 23 points for the Pelicans, who lost their seventh straight and fell to 0-3 under interim coach James Borrego.

After trailing by as many as 19, New Orleans reduced its deficit to single digits in the final minutes, but former Pelican Jonas Valanciunas, who scored 14 points, hit a pair of clutch jumpers for the Nuggets.

Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears scored 16, giving the guard 11 or more points in all but one of New Orleans' 15 games this season.

Watson scored 11 of his points in the first six minutes of the second half, when the Nuggets widened their lead from 62-58 at halftime to 81-70.

That's when Jokic started to take over, hitting a putback layup, a 7-foot pull-up jumper and a 3 that made it 93-76.

With Williamson back in the starting lineup, the Pelicans raced to a 13-point lead when Herb Jones' 3 made it 23-10 in the first quarter. But Denver steadily erased its deficit and took the lead for good when Watson's 3 made it 51-49 with 3:02 left in the second quarter.

Meanwhile in Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and the Thunder won their seventh straight game to improve to 15-1, beating the Sacramento Kings, 113-99.

Chet Holmgren had 21 points and Lu Dort scored all 14 of his points in the second half, including 11 in the fourth quarter for the defending champion Thunder. They have won all three matchups with the Kings.

Dennis Schroder scored 21 points and DeMar DeRozan added 17 for the Kings, who lost their seventh straight. Kings big man Domantas Sabonis sat out because of soreness in his left knee.

The Thunder started the season with a pair of double-overtime wins and had some close calls before finally losing to Portland. Since the loss, they have won every game — with an average margin of 20.3 points. All have been by double digits. Included in the run is a 24-point victory over Golden State and a 29-point win over the Los Angeles Lakers on back-to-back nights last week at home.

Former Thunder star Russell Westbrook, as usual, got a warm reception from the Oklahoma City crowd during starter introductions. He was the league MVP in 2017 and a two-time scoring champion with the Thunder. He had another solid game in the familiar surroundings, posting seven points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Sacramento’s Zach LaVine made a shot from beyond halfcourt as the first half expired, but it was ruled that he shot it after the buzzer, and the Thunder maintained a 58-50 lead at the break.

Gilgeous-Alexander worked some magic late in the third quarter. He banked in a mid-range jumper from near the right side of the free throw line and was fouled and made the free throw to put the Thunder up 83-67. Oklahoma City took an 83-69 advantage into the fourth.

Earlier in Minneapolis, Julius Randle had 32 points and 10 rebounds and the Minnesota Timberwolves held off a late rally by the Washington Wizards for a 120-109 victory.

The Timberwolves, who have won six of their last seven games, were without forward Jaden McDaniels, who has a sprained left wrist and missed his first game in nearly two years. Naz Reid had 28 points off the bench.

Kyshawn George had 23 points for the Wizards, who have lost 12 straight.

The Timberwolves led by as many as 27 points, but the Wizards closed the gap in the fourth quarter when George's 3-pointer made it 98-93 with 7:06 to go.

Randle's dunk pulled Minnesota away 105-96 with 5:51 left but Khris Middleton's jumper got the Wizards within 106-101. The Timberwolves never surrendered the lead and put the game away on Donte DiVincenzo's 3-pointer that made it 116-106 with 1:29 to go.