NEW ORLEANS — The upper deck of Smoothie King Center was almost as sparse as the Nuggets’ and Pelicans’ active rosters for their first NBA Cup game. New Orleans was missing six players to injuries, including star forward Zion Williamson. Denver was fending for the first time this season without Nikola Jokic, who didn’t travel with the team due to personal reasons, not to mention Aaron Gordon dealing with a calf strain and coach Michael Malone playing hooky. Jamal Murray’s 16 points, eight assists, six rebounds and two steals weren’t enough to overcome those absences in a 101-94 loss to the Pelicans on Friday night. “We have a great team here,” said Murray, who missed 10 of 16 shot attempts.