NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Pelicans already were relegated to M*A*S*H.-unit status with four injured players out of the lineup Tuesday night against the Denver Nuggets.

And then, in the midst of a horrendous start to their season, the Pelicans' horror story suddenly got much worse.

All-Star forward Anthony Davis left midway through the first quarter with an injured left shoulder -- the severity remains to be determined.

His injury opened the door for Denver and forward Danilo Gallinari scored a season-high 32 points, including 15 in the third quarter to lead the Nuggets to a 115-98 win at the Smoothie King Center.

New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry, whose team lost for the 10th time in 11 games, said he was unsure of Davis' status for the Pelicans' road game Wednesday night against Oklahoma City.

Davis apparently injured his shoulder absorbing contact on hard screen, but Gentry wasn't even sure about that.

"I haven't seen the play yet; I don't know what happened," said Gentry, who could not even guarantee that Davis would fly with the Pelicans to Oklahoma City. "I think he got a bump in New York (on Sunday), but I don't know how bad that was. He practiced, but we didn't do a whole lot anyway. I don't know what his status is."

With Davis forced to the locker room, Gallinari lit up the Pelicans on the inside, where there was no one left to protect the rim, and from the perimeter, connecting on five of eight from behind the 3-point arc.

Gallinari made all six shots he attempted in the third quarter as Denver erased a 53-51 halftime deficit to take an 83-75 advantage into the final quarter.

"When (Davis) left it was effective for us, clearly," Gallinari said. "With them playing small, we had to play small, too, and they were switching everything on the matchups. That created a lot of mismatches for us. I thought we did a great job," Gallinari said. "

The Nuggets (6-5) made 15 of 30 3-point attempts. They got 17 points from forward Will Barton and 16 apiece from guards Gary Harris and Jameer Nelson.

New Orleans received 24 points from forward Ryan Anderson and 19 from guard Eric Gordon.

Davis missed his only three shots in six minutes and did not return. With his injury and the stomach ailment that sidelined center Omer Asik, the Pelicans had just four available players taller than 6-foot-6.

"We're not going to quit, we're not going to stop," Gentry said. "We're in a tough situation right now. I don't think the season is over by any stretch of the imagination. We'll continue to battle, and somewhere along the line we'll look back at this as a learning experience.

"In these situations," Gentry added, "there's an old adage about you find the true character of a person when adversity is going on. You can decide who's all in in these situations."

Despite Davis' absence, the Pelicans used a 32-20 second quarter in which they made 14 of 19 shots to take a two-point halftime lead.

The Pelicans cut the deficit to 95-90 with 5:15 remaining but could not get any closer. Nelson hit back-to-back 3-pointers as the Nuggets regained control.

Nelson also had a conventional three-point play on a strong drive to the basket and foul shot.

In 25 minutes off the bench, Nelson hit 6 of 11 shots, including 4 of 6 3-pointers.

"With no AD, we knew it would be a lot more small ball, a lot more 3s," said Nuggets coach Mike Malone. "Jameer hit some big, big shots for us down the stretch."

Anderson was trying to remain positive in the midst of the Pelicans' losing streak.

"You can choose to dwell on the negative and dwell on the injuries and the record, or you can choose to focus on the positive and what we can do to get better," Anderson said. "That's the only positive thing we have going right now."

NOTES: Even with the Pelicans losing nine of their first 10 games, coach Alvin Gentry has maintained his sense of humor. After a pause, he began his pregame press conference Tuesday night by telling reporters: "All right, shoot! ... No, I shouldn't say that. Are there any questions?" ... Although Gentry didn't give exact figures, he said the Pelicans rank sixth in the league in first-half defensive efficiency but 30th in second-half defense. The Pelicans have yielded the most points in the league (109.4 per game), allowing 51.9 points in the first half and 57.5 points in the second. ... Denver coach Mike Malone said the key to slowing down New Orleans F Anthony Davis is to play him physically. "Try to get into him, make him work for everything, limit his easy opportunities," Malone said. "Obviously, he's looking to stretch his game out and take a lot more 3-point shots this year."