Aaron Gordon scored 25 points, Michael Porter Jr. had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Nikola Jokic added 18 points, nine rebounds and a career-high 19 assists as the Denver Nuggets beat the Indiana Pacers 125-116 on Monday in Indianapolis.
Christian Braun had 17 points for Denver, which bounced back after having its nine-game winning streak snapped in a 123-100 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday. Jamal Murray added 16 points and Zeke Nnaji had 14 off the bench.
The Nuggets led by as many as 17 and snapped Indiana’s three-game winning streak. Denver never trailed after moving ahead early in the first quarter.
Myles Turner led Indiana with 23 points. Tyrese Haliburton added 19 points and 15 assists, Pascal Siakam had 19 points and nine rebounds, Aaron Nesmith scored 17 points and Obi Toppin finished with 11.
Indiana lost its ninth straight meeting against Denver, which shot 56.4 percent from the field and 8 of 21 (38.1 percent) from 3-point range.
Trailing by 17 at the start of the fourth quarter, Indiana battled back and cut the deficit to 113-107 on Ben Sheppard’s trey with 3:40 remaining.
Nesmith converted a layup to pull Indiana within 123-116 with a minute left before Jokic scored on Denver’s next possession for the final margin.
Denver led 36-28 at the end of the opening period after shooting 58.3 percent from the field and 4 of 5 from 3-point range.
The Nuggets extended their lead to 48-35 before the Pacers used a 20-8 run to pull within 56-55 on Toppin’s dunk with 2:43 left in the half.
Gordon scored 16 points in the first half for Denver, which took a 64-58 lead into intermission.
The Nuggets maintained control in the third quarter and closed on an 8-0 run to extend their lead to 100-83. Jokic had 10 points, four rebounds and five assists in the period.
Indiana played without point guard T.J. McConnell, who is day-to-day with a sprained right ankle.
–Field Level Media
