The Nuggets needed no luck on St. Patrick’s Day.

Denver never trailed while dismantling a short-handed 76ers team, 124-96, on Tuesday at Ball Arena. The Nuggets led by as many as 33.

“I liked the pace of play offensively after the defensive rebound. I thought that was key,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “I thought everybody ran their lanes hard. Whether we scored or not didn’t matter. It just felt like we were playing downhill throughout the night. Defensively, I thought we were pretty locked in.”

Tyrese Maxey, Paul George and Joel Embiid were in street clothes for Philadelphia. Embiid, who hasn’t played in Denver since 2019, was heckled by Nuggets fans when he joined the 76ers bench early in the third quarter, but the game was long over by that point. Peyton Watson was once again Denver’s only player out with injury.

“It feels like we’re more complete. We’re more whole,” Nugget Christian Braun said. “There’s definitely some excitement. Obviously, we’re one piece away still, but you want to get rolling in the right time. I think we’re about to do that.”

Braun led the Nuggets with 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and a 6-for-6 mark on free throws. Cam Johnson added 18 points on eight attempts from the field, while Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray and Bruce Brown scored 12 points apiece. It was Johnson’s fourth consecutive game with 15 or more points, his first such stretch since late November.

“I feel like he is thinking less and just playing. If I’m open, shoot it. If I’m not, drive it. If somebody steps up, pass it. Sometimes that sounds really simplistic, but that’s the best way to play sports,” Adelman said. “When you have your mind that clear, good things happen. Just a great floor game for him.”

Nikola Jokic was the only starter not to score in double figures, finishing with eight points, seven rebounds and 14 assists. He took just seven shots in 25 minutes. Denver’s starters were not needed in the fourth quarter.

Reserve MarJon Beauchamp led the 76ers with 16 points. No other Philadelphia player scored more than 12.

“We were all extremely locked in, knowing what we needed to do,” Brown said. “We didn’t make too many mistakes, and we got out and ran.”

The win kept Denver in fifth place in the Western Conference with Wednesday’s game in Memphis tipping off roughly 20 hours after Tuesday’s ended.

“At this point in the season, obviously, winning like this helps you on a back-to-back,” Adelman said. “This particular back-to-back, I don’t know what actually helps you. I don’t know what time we’ll get there. It’s a tough one just with the lack of sleep, but all these wins right now, you’re just trying to accumulate wins. You’re just trying to stay in the race.”

NUGGETS 124, 76ERS 96

What happened: Denver turned a 16-point lead after the first quarter into a 72-40 advantage at halftime. Philadelphia shaved three points off the deficit by the start of the fourth quarter, but Denver cruised to a 42-27 mark.

What went right: The Nuggets held the 76ers to 33% shooting from the field and 17% from 3-point range in the first half.

What went wrong: Nikola Jokic and David Adelman were frustrated enough with the officiating to pick up technical fouls.

Highlight of the night: Jonas Valanciunas dunked all over Philadelphia’s Adem Bona early in the second quarter. Valanciunas started just outside the lane on the left side of the floor, took a couple of dribbles to his right and took off for a one-handed slam over the 76ers’ big man.

Up next: The Nuggets quickly boarded a flight to Memphis for Wednesday’s game against the Grizzlies.