Nikola Jokic made more history, Trevon Brazile made more headlines, and the Nuggets bounced back from an ugly home stand with a 104-91 win over the Pelicans on Wednesday night in New Orleans.

Jamal Murray led the team with 23 points. Four rotation players remained out, including Cam Johnson, who has a right ankle injury. Here are three takeaways from the win.

Adelman returns to jumbo lineup

The turning point in Denver’s dramatic comeback win over New Orleans last Saturday was at the start of the fourth quarter, when coach David Adelman went ultra-big with a second unit that deployed two power forwards and a traditional center: Brazile at the three, Aaron Gordon at the four and Marvin Bagley III at the five.

Sparks flew. The Nuggets overwhelmed with size and athleticism. For 15 of the remaining 17 minutes in that game, they played Gordon and Brazile together, along with a center (either Bagley or Jokic). Those lineups outscored the Pelicans by 20.

“At the half we talked and said, either if (DeMar) DeRozan’s got it going, he can close; if not, we can go super-big,” Adelman said Monday before Denver’s next game. “And we felt like TB had matchups he could contain as a three, where other nights that’s unfair for him.”

One of those “unfair” nights, Adelman decided, was against the undersized Golden State Warriors. Bryce Hopkins started a second consecutive game at small forward, while the Brazile-Gordon combination appeared for only 20 seconds. In addition to the matchup factor, Adelman explained that his starting lineup decision was for “rotational reasons” — he preferred to bring Brazile in during a second wave of minutes, rather than front-loading his substitution pattern.

But when New Orleans was the opponent again Wednesday? The Nuggets went back to what worked in the same matchup four days earlier. Brazile made his first career start, and Denver started on a 27-13 run with an eight-minute stint of Brazile, Gordon and Jokic in the frontcourt. The same trio went plus-two during a brief second-quarter run, only for Jokic to get into foul trouble and spend the last two minutes of the half on the bench.

Brazile has continued to pop a startling amount for a second-round pick. Adelman urged patience last weekend, stressing the rookie will inevitably make mistakes. Yet he logged 31 minutes Wednesday in his fourth career game, the fourth-most on the team, amassing 11 points, eight rebounds, a steal and a block.

Jokic’s 200th triple-double

When he wasn’t playing two power forwards, Adelman was experimenting with another new look in New Orleans: double bigs. Jokic and Bagley shared the court for the first time this season, going on an 8-2 run in two minutes of work to finish the first quarter. Bagley struggled in the second half but was solid in his early minutes, going for eight points and five rebounds.

As for Jokic? It wasn’t a banner night for the three-time MVP, and yet it was. With 21 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists — never mind the seven turnovers — he joined Russell Westbrook as the only players in NBA history with 200 career triple-doubles.

Both of them, coincidentally, recorded No. 200 as a Denver Nugget. Westbrook reached the milestone in a road win at Memphis two years ago. Now, Jokic is tight on his heels, nine away from tying his all-time record.

Lack of shooting remains stark

After a 12-for-31 night in New Orleans (saved by a late flurry), the Nuggets improved to a 32.8% from 3-point range as a team four games into the season.

A lineup featuring one star and four non-spacers halted their momentum late in the third quarter. They led 77-64 with 3:26 left in the frame when they went to Jokic, Tyus Jones, Christian Braun, DeRozan and Bagley. Murray replaced Jokic with a minute to go after a fourth foul on Jokic. Those lineups scored on only one of eight possessions. The Pelicans ended the quarter on a 9-0 run, cutting it to 79-73 and suddenly setting up an unexpectedly tense stretch of non-Jokic minutes.

Gordon has been among the many Nuggets struggling with his 3-point shot early in the season, but he salvaged the ensuing bench stint with a corner triple to push Denver’s lead back to 88-80. It ignited his teammates, most of all Braun, who buried three late 3s to help the Nuggets pull away.

Johnson’s absence still looms large. He wasn’t officially ruled out Wednesday until less than an hour before opening tip, perhaps a sign that he’ll be back from his ankle injury Friday in Phoenix. As long as he and Spencer Jones (hamstring) remain out, this team looks woefully short on shooting.

The bright spot: Murray, who has picked up where he left off last season. He’s 16 for 34 from deep after a 5-for-11 showing in the Big Easy. The rest of the team is 28.2% combined.

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