Nikola Jokic's 23rd triple-double of the season leads Nuggets over Pelicans 125-113

DENVER (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. scored a season-high 36 points, Nikola Jokic added 27 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and the Denver Nuggets overcame a career-high 41 points from Trey Murphy III to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans 125-113 on Monday night.

Jamal Murray had 20 points and eight assists while Julian Strawther scored 15 points off the bench for Denver. In his first start of the season, Zeke Nnaji, filling in for the injured Aaron Gordon, had a season-high 12 points.

The triple-double was Jokic’s NBA-best 23rd of the season and ninth in his past 11 games.

Murphy scored 39 of New Orleans’ first 85 points, helping the Pelicans, who trailed by as many as 20 points in the second half, get within eight entering the fourth quarter. Murphy made 13 of his 21 shots, including eight of his 12 3s, while the rest of his team shot just 37.3% from the field.

CJ McCollum scored 30 points and Zion Williamson added 14 for the Pelicans.

Nuggets: Denver continued its rebound from a three-game losing streak, picking up its third consecutive victory and 11th win in its past 15 games to remain in fourth place in the Western Conference.

Pelicans: After a season-high four-game win streak offered some signs of hope, New Orleans had its sixth consecutive loss in an injury plagued season.

After a Murphy 3 tied the game at 21 in the first quarter, the Nuggets went on a 14-2 run and led for the rest of the night, with the Pelicans never getting closer than six.

With his career performance Monday, Murphy has averaged 37.7 points in his past three games while shooting 70.7% from the field and 63.6% from 3.

The Nuggets and Pelicans will have a rematch on Wednesday in Denver.

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Denver Nuggets forward Hunter Tyson (5) reaches for the ball as New Orleans Pelicans guards Jordan Hawkins (24) and Trey Murphy III (25) defend in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, right, dodges New Orleans Pelicans center Karlo Matkovic, left, to pick up the ball in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic argues for a call in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New Orleans Pelicans, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson heads (1) to the bench in the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Denver Nuggets, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, right, drives to the basket as New Orleans Pelicans center Yves Missi (21) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, left, drives to the basket as New Orleans Pelicans forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, right, defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins (24) looks to pass the ball as Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr., center, drives to the basket as New Orleans Pelicans guards Javonte Green, left, and Trey Murphy III, right, defend in the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Saturday fired about 10 ballistic missiles toward the eastern sea, South Korea’s military said, staging its own show of force as the rival South conducts a joint military exercise with the United States.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from an area in Sunan, the site of Pyongyang’s international airport, and flew about 350 kilometers (220 miles).

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the weapons landed outside the country’s exclusive economic zone and that there were no reports of damage to planes or ships.

The South’s Joint Chiefs said the military has stepped up surveillance and is maintaining readiness against possible additional launches while closely sharing information with the U.S. and Japan.

The launches came as the U.S. and South Korean militaries conduct their annual springtime exercises involving thousands of troops while the Trump administration also wages an escalating war in the Middle East.

The war has raised concerns about potential security lapses in South Korea, as local media — citing security camera footage and other images — have speculated that the U.S. is relocating some missile defense assets stationed in the country to support operations against Iran.

When asked by The Associated Press this week whether U.S. Forces Korea was moving interceptor missiles from its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system in Seongju to the Middle East, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s office said it could not confirm details about U.S. military operations.

The office said the potential relocation of U.S. military assets would not affect the allies’ defense posture against nuclear-armed North Korea, while also citing South Korea’s conventional military strength. It earlier gave a similar response to reports about the possible relocation of Patriot missile defense systems from South Korea.

The launches came hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, Seoul’s No. 2 official after Lee, met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington and expressed hope for renewed diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang. Lee seeks improved inter-Korean relations, and some of his top officials have said Trump’s expected visit to China, starting March 31, may create an opening with Pyongyang.

But Saturday’s launches appeared to dim such hopes, signaling defiance by Pyongyang, which in recent months has hardened its stance toward Seoul and urged Washington to drop denuclearization demands as a precondition for talks.

North Korea has long described the allies’ drills as invasion rehearsals and often uses them as a pretext to dial up its own military demonstrations or weapons testing.

The North in previous years has conducted numerous salvo launches of missiles or artillery while describing them as simulations of nuclear attacks against targets in South Korea.

The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday criticized Washington and Seoul for proceeding with their drills at a perilous moment for global security, and warned that any challenge to the North’s safety would bring “terrible consequences.”

Without directly referring to the Iran war, Kim Yo Jong said the U.S.-South Korea drills undermine regional stability at a time when the global security structure is “collapsing rapidly and wars break out in different parts of the world due to the reckless acts of outrageous international rogues.”

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has released separate statements denouncing the joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and expressing support for Tehran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

The 11-day Freedom Shield exercise, which runs through March 19, is one of two annual command post exercises conducted by the militaries of the United States and South Korea. The largely computer-simulated drills are designed to test the allies’ joint operational capabilities, while incorporating evolving war scenarios and security challenges. Freedom Shield will be accompanied by a field training program called Warrior Shield.

North Korea has repeatedly rejected Washington and Seoul’s calls to resume diplomacy aimed at winding down its nuclear program. Talks derailed in 2019 following the collapse of Kim Jong Un’s second summit with Trump during his first term.

Kim has made Russia the priority of his foreign policy, sending thousands of troops and large amounts of military equipment to support Moscow’s war in Ukraine, possibly in exchange for aid and military technology.

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AP journalists Yuri Kageyama and Mayuko Ono contributed from Tokyo.

South Korean army's K1A2 tanks move during a joint river-crossing exercise between South Korea and the United States as a part of the Freedom Shield military exercise in Yeoncheon, South Korea, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

U.S. Army's armored vehicles cross a floating bridge on the Imjin River during a joint river-crossing exercise between South Korea and the United States as a part of the Freedom Shield military exercise in Yeoncheon, South Korea, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

U.S. Army's armored vehicles move during a joint river-crossing exercise between South Korea and the United States as a part of the Freedom Shield military exercise in Yeoncheon, South Korea, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)