The Indiana Pacers absorbed a triple-double from Nikola Jokic to defeat the host Denver Nuggets 125-120 on Sunday.
Myles Turner scored 24 points for Indiana, Obi Toppin contributed 22, Andrew Nembhard had 19 and Aaron Nesmith added 17 as Indiana (47-31) marched to its fourth successive win and strengthened its grip on fourth spot in the Eastern Conference.
Jokic finished with 41 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists for his 32nd triple-double of the season while Christian Braun scored 20 of his 30 points in the second half. But the duo couldn’t prevent Denver (47-32) from crashing to its fourth straight loss.
The Pacers forged an eight-point lead deep into the fourth quarter before Braun helped the Nuggets rally and get to within one with 2:46 to play and within two in the final minute.
With Denver down 122-120, Braun rebounded Turner’s missed 3 but Jokic threw an errant pass meant for Russell Westbrook with 15.8 seconds remaining, handing possession back to Indiana.
Nesmith hit two free throws for 124-120 before Jokic missed a 3-point shot with seven seconds remaining.
Jokic poured in 21 points in the opening period — the fourth time in his career he has scored 20-plus in a first quarter — on 9-of-15 shooting to give the Nuggets the early lead.
With Jokic dominant, Denver hit 15 of 24 from the floor, outrebounded Indiana 13-7 and led 33-24 after one.
Jokic, who played all 12 minutes of the opening frame, sat out the first 5:09 of the second before returning and helping the Nuggets’ lead grow to 50-37.
He had six assists for the quarter and finished the first half with 29 points, nine dimes and six boards, while Westbrook got hot with nine quick points in the second.
Toppin led the Pacers’ fightback, scoring 13 points for the quarter — including 3 of 4 from 3-point range — to trim Denver’s advantage to 66-61 at intermission.
The third period contained six ties and five lead changes as neither side could gain total command.
Tyrese Haliburton, who didn’t score at all until 3:43 in that quarter, hit a floater with 6.1 seconds remaining to put Indiana in front 98-97 entering the fourth.
The Nuggets were their own worst enemy in the final frame with eight made field goals and six turnovers, which gave the Pacers the edge.
–Field Level Media
