The Denver Nuggets were handed their first NBA In-Season Tournament loss courtesy of the New Orleans Pelicans. The loss drops the Nuggets to 2-1 in the tournament and 3rd in West Group B.

The Nuggets fell behind early and were down 69-53 at halftime. They finally woke up and attempted to rally in the second half, but it was a futile effort, and the Nuggets ended up losing 115-110.

Poor 3-point shooting from the Nuggets

At one point in the game, the Nuggets were down nearly 20 points to the Pelicans. Because of the steep lead by the Pelicans, the Nuggets tried to shrink the gap by attempting a bunch of three-point shots. Unfortunately, those shots weren't finding net.

The Nuggets were 10-40 from beyond the arc, which is a dismal 25%. The Pelicans on the other hand were shooting hot from three-point range, connecting on 52.2% of their attempts.

In the final 30 seconds of the game, Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Reggie Jackson all had opportunities to tie the game. They each attempted threes, but none of them landed and the Nuggets fell short.

If the Nuggets want to keep winning, they can't afford to shoot this poorly from three-point range going forward. 25% is pretty embarrassing.

Christian Braun shook off the rust

Braun has had a pretty slow and moderately disappointing start to his second year in the NBA. Prior to the game against the Pelicans, Braun's season-high was 13 points. Braun came off the bench for the Nuggets and put on a great offensive performance, often providing a bit of life in their rallying effort.

Braun finished the night with 25 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 assists. He was also solid from three-point range, going 3-for-5.

Yes, the Nuggets did lose the game, but it was a great bounce-back game for Braun that he can hopefully build off of.

The Nuggets need more from their bench

As mentioned earlier, Braun had himself a pretty good night. So disregarding him for at least this game, the problem is with the rest of the bench. Yes, bench players play in relief of the starters, but they still need to keep up the scoring. And right now, the Nuggets simply aren't getting enough from their bench.

Zeke Nnaji struggled to defend Zion Williamson in the first quarter. The Pelicans continued to feed Williamson the ball into the second period, and he continued to dominate. The Nuggets tried to stop the bleeding and subbed Jokic back in, but they were already down by 14 points.

Julian Strawther really looked like a rookie out there as well and wasn't playing smart at times. Strawther went 1-for-4 for 2 points on the night, including 0-for-3 from three-point range.

Peyton Watson and Jalen Pickett didn't provide much help either. Not including Braun, the Nuggets' bench went 2-for-10 shooting and scored a measly five points.

Braun did the heavy lifting with his 25 points, but don't let that skew the bench stats for you too much. Five points from four players just doesn't cut it. While Nikola Jokic is one of the best players in the NBA, Denver can't afford to rely on him so heavily, especially this early in the season. The bench has to start scoring more so Jokic doesn't have to come in and do damage control, especially since Jamal Murray is currently sidelined due to injury.