NEW ORLEANS — For much of the Denver Nuggets’ 2016-17 season, defense has been an afterthought.
Denver, the league’s 29th-ranked defense on the year, has struggled on that end of the floor all season and Tuesday night in New Orleans, they left their defense on Bourbon Street allowing the Pelicans to shoot 51.5 percent from the field but still managed to eek out a 134-131 win to keep themselves alive in the race for the Western Conference’s eighth seed.
In fact, defense wasn’t much of a priority for either side tonight, as Denver shot 53.5 percent for the game for went 13-30 (43.