Heading into the Denver Nuggets ' matchup vs. the New Orleans Pelicans, Aaron Gordon wound up being a late scratch due to a hamstring injury that left head coach David Adelman tasked to elevate someone in his place within the starting five.

Derik Queen produced his best game as a professional on Wednesday, leading the Pelicans in a loss against the Nuggets.

Derik Queen received praise from Nikola Jokic after he scored 30 points in the Pelicans' loss to the Nuggets on Wednesday.

The Denver Nuggets were able to get back to their winning ways against the a healthy Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans after seeing their extensive winning streak come to an end the game prior, walking away with a nice 125-118 victory for their 11th on the season.

Williamson returned after missing the previous eight games with a strained left hamstring and gave the team an early lift, but he finished with just 14 points in 29 minutes. Rookie Derik Queen led New Orleans with a career-high 30 points, Trey Murphy scored 23 and Jeremiah Fears added 16. Karlo Matkovic was sidelined by a strained right calf.

Derik Queen showed up big time against the Denver Nuggets and impressed Nikola Jokic, one of his all-time favorite players. The New Orleans Pelicans rookie stacked historic numbers in a 118-125 loss.

Heading into a road game against the New Orleans Pelicans while down two starters was never going to be easy for the Denver Nuggets, regardless of who their opp