Nuggets lead assistant David Adelman took over for Malone and said the most difficult challenge of stepping in was that “Nikola is not here.”

The upper deck of Smoothie King Center was almost as sparse as the Denver Nuggets’ and New Orleans Pelicans’ active rosters for their first NBA Cup game. New Orleans was missing six players to injuries,

Three-time league MVP Nikola Jokic will miss the Denver Nuggets' NBA Cup game at the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night for personal reasons. The Nuggets have not played since Sunday, when Jokic delivered his fourth consecutive triple-double with 37 points,