Jamal Murray and Peyton Watson had the Pelicans in a blender Tuesday night at Smoothie King Center.

Here are five takeaways from Denver’s 122-116 win in New Orleans:

1. The way Watson plays in New Orleans might lead the Pelicans’ executives to call Denver’s front office before the trade deadline. Watson followed the highest-scoring night of his career, a 32-point performance in New Orleans on Nov. 19, with 31 points, seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block Tuesday. He made 11 of 16 shots from the field with three of those misses coming from 3-point range. Watson displayed a strong understanding of when he could get to the rim to finish and when the best option was pull-up from midrange. What doesn’t show up in the box score is a deflection that sealed the game. Joe Dumars, the Pelicans’ executive vice president of basketball operations, might have to mention Trey Murphy III early in the call to get Ben Tenzer and Jon Wallace to stay on the line, but Watson was better than Murphy on the Pelicans’ home court for a second time this season.

2. Murray was just about perfect in the fourth quarter. He scored 12 of his game-high 35 points in the final 12 minutes without missing a shot, despite it being his first game back after missing the previous two with an illness and an ankle sprain. His ninth and final assist of the night made it a two-possession game in the final 15 seconds, and he added three steals and a block. That’s another meaningful performance from what’s become a breakout season for Denver’s starting point guard.

3. The Nuggets’ public relations staff might need to start another promotional campaign. The Nuggets sent out a snack-filled cooler, making the case that Nikola Jokic and Murray should be All-Stars prior to Sunday’s game. In his postgame press conference Tuesday, Nuggets coach David Adelman lobbied for Tim Hardaway Jr. to be a contestant in the 3-point shootout over All-Star weekend when asked about Hardaway’s candidacy for Sixth Man of the Year. As long as Hardaway keeps this up, he should be considered for both. His willingness to take and ability to make big shots has changed more than a handful of Denver’s first 40 games. Hardaway entered the night a 41.4% shooter from 3, which is even more impressive when you consider the volume and degree of difficulty of his looks. Hardaway went 3 of 7 on Tuesday and scored 18 of Denver’s 22 bench points.

4. The banged-up Nuggets –- Jokic, Christian Braun, Cam Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas — stayed back in Denver. It’s a smart plan with Denver playing two games in different cities on back-to-back days, but it’s also a little concerning in Braun’s case. Adelman and Braun had a conversation prior to Sunday’s win over the Bucks and decided to play it safe. The Nuggets might be even more short-handed Wednesday in Dallas if the Nuggets are understandably reluctant to play Murray, Aaron Gordon and Spencer Jones on consecutive days given their recent injuries. That makes Tuesday’s win even more important.

5. It was a good night to have multiple screens and streaming services. Oklahoma City and San Antonio, the two top teams in the Western Conference, tipped off in a Peacock exclusive at the same time as the Nuggets and Pelicans. San Antonio is the only team in the league that has had the Thunder’s number, winning the first three matchups, but Oklahoma City exacted some revenge with a 119-98 win that increased its lead atop the conference. The Nuggets and Spurs head into Wednesday with matching 27-13 records, though the Spurs won the first of four games against the Nuggets in late November. Denver and San Antonio don’t play again until March 12.

NUGGETS 122, PELICANS 116

What happened: New Orleans trailed by one after the first quarter but led 65-60 at halftime. Denver closed within three by the end of the third quarter and pulled away in the final minute.

What went right: Denver committed just seven turnovers and finished with a 16-4 advantage in points off turnovers. Murray (three) and Watson (two) were the only Nuggets to commit multiple turnovers and those are more than acceptable numbers given the offensive load they carried.

What went wrong: The Pelicans made Denver pay on the glass. New Orleans finished with a 59-41 rebounding advantage with 16 of those coming on the offensive glass. New Orleans finished with a 14-7 advantage in second-chance points.

Highlight of the night: For all the clutch scoring Murray provided, his biggest play came in the final 15 seconds. New Orleans decided to apply defensive pressure down two instead of fouling. Murray circled around the perimeter before slinging a one-handed assist to Aaron Gordon for a dunk that put Denver up four with 10.8 seconds left.

Up next: The Nuggets are off to Dallas for Wednesday’s game against the Mavericks.