What an interesting 48 hours it had been for both the New Orleans Pelicans and the Denver Nuggets, with each team coming off of its most improbable win of the season, respectively.

On Monday, the Nuggets overcame a 25-point deficit in the third quarter and trailed by as much as 17 points in the fourth, before completing the second-biggest fourth quarter comeback in franchise history to stun the Memphis Grizzlies.

For the Pelicans, it has been a bit more hectic as New Orleans’ all-star forward Anthony Davis demanded a trade. Even so, the Pelicans managed to upset a red-hot Houston Rockets team in an extreme upset victory (121-116).

The two faced off on Wednesday and it was Nikola Jokic who recorded his eighth triple-double of the season in a 105-99 Nuggets victory. With that, here is the good, the bad and the ugly.

Good – Morris and Beasley shine

Coach Malone decided to shake things up as the Nuggets have been coming out flat in games. He decided to go away from Torrey Craig as a starter, which he used for defensive purposes, and elected to go with Monte Morris.

Morris has been great all season in his role as a backup as he has taken care of the basketball, ran the unit and applied pressure on the defensive end as well. That was all on display as he had another incredible game in Jamal Murray’s absence. Morris finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, while not turning the ball over once.

The young guard is proving that he is one of the best backups in the league and is a player that can be trusted to either start or finish games. Morris put together one of his most complete games of the season, along with Malik Beasley, who was also an unlikely contributor in the win.

As great as Jokic was down the stretch as he closed out the Pelicans, it was Malik Beasley that led Denver to a victory yet again.

Against the Grizzlies, it was Beasley who hit multiple clutch shots to lead the comeback and he duplicated that success on Wednesday when he scored a game-high 22 points.

Beasley went 9-of-14 from the field and knocked down four 3-pointers as well. He is one of the most improved players in the league and Morris was complimentary of Beasley’s progression after the game.

“It was so much work that people did not see him putting in,” Morris said. “He is playing great and stepping up to the plate this season.”

Bad – Harris struggles offensively

Without a doubt, the Nuggets have been better since getting Gary Harris back. He defends at a high level and always takes on the opposing squads’ best ball handler. He also spaces the floor on offense and gives the Nuggets a two-way player that not many teams have.

That being said, as of late, Harris has not been his usual self on offense.

On the season, Harris is averaging 14.8 points on 42 percent from the field and 31 percent from beyond the arc, but lately he has struggled offensively. Against the Pelicans, Harris finished 3-of-14 with nine points. He also missed seven attempts from deep (2-of-9) and threw away two turnovers which added to his recent struggles.

In Denver’s last four games, Harris has not shot the ball exceptionally well as he is 14-of-44 from the field. What’s worse is his shooting from beyond the arc has been wildly inconsistent (5-of-23).

Harris came into the game with a questionable tab, but played 33 minutes on the night. After the game Malone spoke on Harris’s health status.

“I prepared for him not to play to be honest,” Malone said.

If Harris is hurt, he needs to sit. The Nuggets are soaring and are having an exceptional season right now and if Harris is not 100 percent sitting him until the All-Star break shall be in the plans so he can get healthy for Denver as they head to the home stretch.

With the emergence of Beasley, Torrey Craig being a player starter and Murray returning soon, sitting Harris does not sound like a bad idea.

Ugly – Rough First half

The Pelicans were missing Davis, Julius Randle, Nikola Mirotic, Elfrid Payton and E’Twaun Moore and were also on the second night of a back-to-back. None of it mattered though, as the Pelicans made things extremely difficult for the Nuggets in first half

Yes, the Nuggets were without point guard Murray for a third straight game, but that is no excuse for Denver’s poor play in the first 24 minutes. The Nuggets started out the game lethargic on the defensive end and also had issues with knocking down open shots.

Denver went into the half trailing the lowly Pelicans, 56-53, as they could not come up with any kind of stop on defense. Denver also allowed the crowd to become a factor by giving up a late run to New Orleans and missing multiple open shots.

“We started the game off with great energy and then we could not get a stop,” Malone said.

The third quarter is when the Nuggets defense finally turned things around. Malone said that there were no changes made but the team was just more focused there and defended a lot better and at a high level which changed the outcome of the game.

Denver must start games with more energy if they plan on continuing to win and play at a high level. Just imagine the type of games that the Nuggets would have if they started games how they finished.