Field Level Media
Mar 4, 2021
Michael Porter Jr. had 24 points and 11 rebounds, Nikola Jokic added 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and the visiting Denver Nuggets beat the Indiana Pacers 113-103 in Indianapolis on Thursday night.
Jamal Murray scored 23 points and Will Barton had 16 for Denver, which improved to 4-0 on its road trip.
Myles Turner had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Domantas Sabonis had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, Doug McDermott finished with 20 points, Justin Holiday scored 16 and Malcolm Brogdon and T.J. McConnell had 10 each for the Pacers.
The Nuggets led 66-54 after Porter hit a running 3-pointer early in the third quarter, but Indiana made a comeback.
Holiday started it with a 3-pointer, McDermott and Turner had layups, Brogdon hit two shots and Holiday drained another from deep to cap a 14-2 run to tie it at 68. Denver called a timeout and started a surge of its own.
Porter dunked, Jokic hit a 10-foot jumper and then fed Vlatko Cancar for a driving layup to put the Nuggets up 74-68. Denver closed the third on a 14-6 run to take an 82-74 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Nuggets tried to pull away early in the final period when they went up by 11 on Murray's layup. Edmond Sumner answered with a 3-pointer and Jeremy Lamb's jumper got the Pacers within six, but Denver responded again.
Porter made a 3-pointer, Murray dunked on a fast break and Porter hit another from deep to stretch the lead to 14. Jokic returned to the floor and hit a turnaround in the lane.
Porter then blocked Brogdon's layup attempt, which led to another Murray dunk and a 99-81 lead with 5:22 left.
McDermott ended the drought with a 3-pointer but Indiana never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
The Nuggets trailed by a point after the first quarter but used a 9-2 run late in the second to lead by as many as 12 and took a 61-52 advantage into halftime.
--Field Level Media