Nuggets-Pacers Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Dec 06 2012 11:21PM

Paul George is starting to get hot, but the Indiana Pacers have no idea whether he will keep it up.

George has posted his highest point total over consecutive games for the Pacers, who will try to hand the Denver Nuggets a fifth straight road loss Friday night.

It's been hard to figure out what to expect from George, who is now on the upswing with 56 points on 21-of-40 shooting over his last two games. It comes after he scored four points on 2-of-18 shooting in the two contests prior to that.

"You just watch him and some of the shots that he's making and you think, 'Boy, if he could ever stabilize and do this on a consistent basis,'" coach Frank Vogel said.

With star swingman Danny Granger yet to see action, the Pacers (10-9) would welcome any consistency from George. For his part, the third-year forward believes he has turned the corner - along with the team.

"A lot of things are starting to come together," George said. "We're starting to knock down shots, we're starting to see the open man. We're starting to play the style that we played last year."

Indiana has won six of eight, and Vogel pointed to a 3-1 road trip that preceded Wednesday's 99-92 home win over Portland as to where his team began to gel.

"Nothing builds confidence like quality road wins," Vogel said. "We got two really good ones on this last trip, another one in Sacramento, which is a quality win because they play great basketball in their building, and the confidence is growing by the day."

The road hasn't been as kind to Denver (9-10), which opened a five-game trip with Wednesday's 108-104 defeat to Atlanta. Ty Lawson had a season-high 32 points, but his good work was undone by his two turnovers in the final minute as the Nuggets were outscored 9-3 down the stretch.

"I feel bad for him," coach George Karl said. "He had a great game going. He was the best player on the court for most of the night until the turnovers at the end. He just had a big-time game."

Andre Iguodala will be trying to bounce back from a pair of sub-par efforts in which he has totaled nine points on 3-of-15 shooting.

Which team controls the tempo better should be critical to Friday's outcome.

Denver is yielding 101.1 points per game for one of the league's worst marks and averaging 100.8 points on offense for one of the best. Indiana, meanwhile, is yielding 91.1 points per game for the NBA's second-lowest mark but also owns the second-worst offense at 90.7 points per game.

The Pacers haven't cracked 100 points in their last six games.

"We are just trying to be steady, trying to build some consistency in our effort and how we approach every single game," forward David West said.

The Pacers are 2-3 on Fridays, and the only other day they are below .500 is Sunday (0-1).

The Nuggets have taken 12 of the last 15 meetings, winning 113-109 in Indianapolis on Feb. 11 in the lone one last season.

Miller leads Nuggets past Pacers 92-89

By MICHAEL MAROT
Posted Dec 07 2012 11:47PM

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Denver's old man, Andre Miller, can still deliver a decisive knockout punch when needed.

Indiana found out the hard way Friday night.

The 36-year-old guard played like a revitalized All-Star, scoring eight of his 15 points during a decisive 10-0 run to send the Nuggets past the Pacers 92-89. Miller had a hand in all of the points during the late flurry - making three baskets and two free throws and dishing out an assist on the only basket he didn't score.

"He knows how to get shots down the stretch better than some of our other guys, some of our younger guys," coach George Karl said. "He was running the pick-and-roll actions better than anyone all game long, and he just has that old-man knack, that old-school knack."

For one night, at least, Miller rekindled images from the days he was one of the league's most feared guards.

This time, the oldest player on the league's third-youngest team, showed his teammates that a combination of poise, leadership and clutch play will trump big names and flashy plays every time.

No, Miller didn't produce the biggest numbers for Denver (10-10).

JaVale McGee had a season-high 20 points, 16 in the first half, and eight rebounds. Corey Brewer matched his season-high with 20 points, too, on a night only two Denver starters reached double figures - Kosta Koufos with 12 points and Andre Iguodala with 10.

But Miller delivered the scoring punch when Denver needed it most.

"We just want to keep providing some stability, some energy, so hopefully, it can carry over into the games," Miller said as he walked out of the locker room.

Indiana (10-10) was looking for its first three-game winning streak this season and had a chance to force overtime when George Hill blocked Ty Lawson's shot from the left corner with 8.8 seconds to go. Hill grabbed the loose ball and sprinted up the court, but rather than call timeout to set up a play, Hill circled around and threw up an off-balance 3-pointer that bounced off the side of the rim as the buzzer sounded.

Hill finished with 15 points on a night all five Pacers starters scored in double figures. Paul George finished with 22, including four 3s. David West had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Roy Hibbert had 10 points and nine rebounds and Lance Stephenson had 12 points.

Afterward, Hill said perhaps he should have called the timeout. Coach Frank Vogel disagreed.

"In a scramble situation, that's where you get your most open looks," Vogel said.

Either way, it wasn't good enough against the feisty Nuggets and suddenly revitalized Miller.

The Nuggets overcame Indiana's fast start, which put them in a 10-point hole less than four minutes into the game, took the lead early in the second quarter and stayed in control for most of the game.

But after leading for most of the next 2-plus quarters, Miller re-emerged when Indiana charged back.

"He's drinking from the fountain of youth," point guard Ty Lawson said. "He was coming down and getting buckets, getting assists, he's playing well for us. He's winning games for us."

Exhibit A came Friday night in a city where Denver has won seven of its last nine and in a series in which the Nuggets have won 13 of the last 16.

Midway through the fourth quarter, it looked like the Nuggets would hold on again as they scored seven straight points to rebuild an 80-74 lead.

Indiana answered with Stephenson's layup, a three-point play from Hill and a free throw from Hibbert to tie the score at 82 with 3:52 to go. Twenty seconds later, George hit a 3-ponter, giving Indiana the lead and sending the crowd into a frenzy.

But after a timeout, Miller took control.

He started the run with two free throws, then scored on a layup and hit a 15-footer. After feeding McGee for a dunk, he closed the run with a 14-foot pullup shot to make it 92-85 with 1:01 to play.

"They came out and really brought it up a level and it kind of took us some time to adjust to that," George said. "By that time, they kind of found something, letting Andre Miller attack and find guys."

George answered with his fourth 3 and Stephenson cut the deficit to three by making 1 of 2 free throws with 29.9 seconds left.

Miller and the Nuggets didn't let Indiana get any closer.

"I've played with him for two years," Iguodala said of Miller. "And I've seen that calm about him before when it's needed, especially for a team like ours with some youth."

NOTES: Hibbert had three blocks and now has blocked at least two shots in 14 consecutive games. ... Koufos was 5 of 8 from the field and 2 of 2 from the free-throw line with five rebounds despite still being slowed by the flu, which kept him out of Wednesday night's game. ... Iguodala hurt his left hip late in the first half but continued to play. The Nuggets already have two players out with hip injuries - Wilson Chandler and Julyan Stone. ... Indiana and Denver now have an even split of the 168 games they've played since entering the ABA.

Notebooks: Nuggets 92, Pacers 89

Conrad Brunner, for NBA.com
Posted Fri Dec 07, 2012 10:28 PM - Updated Fri Dec 07, 2012 10:28 PM

THE FACTS: The game turned out to be a clash of wills, but not between Indiana's defense and Denver's offense. It was between the Pacers' first unit and the Nuggets' bench. Ultimately, the latter made the difference. Reserve Andre Miller scored eight of the points and created the other bucket in a late 10-0 run that propelled the Nuggets past the Pacers 92-89 Friday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. McGee hit all nine of his shots and scored 20, as did reserve Corey Brewer as Denver enjoyed a 55-12 advantage in bench scoring. Paul George led Indiana with 22, extending his streak of games with at least 20 to a career-best three. All five Indiana starters scored in double figures but it went for naught.

QUOTABLE: "Right now I think he knows how to get shots down the stretch better than some of our other guys, some of our younger guys. He was running the pick-and-roll and the actions all game long probably better than anybody out there. He just has that old man knack."
-- Denver Coach George Karl on Miller.

THE STAT: The Nuggets' reserves combined to shoot 24 of 39 overall (.615), pull 17 rebounds and dish 10 assists. Indiana's reserves were 4 of 16 (.250) with eight rebounds and three assists.

TURNING POINT: A close game throughout appeared to swing Indiana's direction when the starters put together a 10-2 run capped by a George 3-pointer to put the Pacers up 85-82 with 3:31 remaining. But Miller scored six in a row and then came up with the game's most decisive play, stealing a rebound from Lance Stephenson and lofting a long lead pass to JaVale McGee for a dunk that put the Nuggets up 90-85 with 1:38 left. After George Hill missed a 3-pointer, Miller drove for a floater to make it a seven-point lead with 1:01 remaining. George hit a corner 3-pointer and Stephenson a free throw with 29.9 seconds left to cut it to three and after Hill blocked Ty Lawson's 3-pointer, the Pacers had one last chance. But the best they could do was an off-balance 3-point attempt by Hill, who pump-faked Lawson into the air and drew contact on the attempt but not enough to merit a foul call.

QUOTABLE II: "Their bench was better than their starters."
-- Indiana Coach Frank Vogel on the Nuggets.

HOT: The full range of McGee's skills were on display, from athletic dunks to jump-hooks in the lane and one coast-to-coast drive for a layup. In addition to his 9-of-9 shooting for 20 points, he pulled eight rebounds and blocked a shot. Brewer was 9 of 16 and Miller 6 of 11. Forwards George (9 of 15) and West (8 of 12) combined to hit 17 of 27 (.630) for the Pacers.

NOT: Denver's starters combined for just 37 points on 14 of 47 shooting (.298), with Lawson (1 of 10), Danilo Gallinari (2 of 10) having particularly egregious outings. Indiana's reserves had twice as many turnovers (eight) as baskets (four).

ROOKIE WATCH: None played for either team.

GOOD MOVE: McGee had a remarkable coast-to-coast drive for a swooping layup in the first quarter.

BAD MOVE: Going for a repeat of that play, McGee pulled a rebound, went behind the back with his dribble but lost his balance before reaching midcourt and tumbled to the floor while flinging the ball out of bounds.

NOTABLE: George has averaged 26.0 points in the last three games, hitting 30 of 56 shots (.536). ... West scored 18 with 11 rebounds for his seventh double-double, while Hill had 15 points and 10 assists for his first double-double for the Pacers. ... Indiana failed for the third time to win a third consecutive game. ... This was the second of a five-game road trip for the Nuggets. When it concludes, they will have played 17 of their first 23 games on the road. ... Kosta Koufous returned to the Denver starting lineup after missing one game with the flu and produced 12 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes. ...This was the fourth time this season an opponent's bench has scored at least 50 points against the Pacers. ... Indiana's starters outscored Denver's, 77-37, but the Pacers lost for the first time in four games when all five reach double figures. ... Denver had a dominant 54-28 edge in points in the paint, hitting 61 percent of its attempts (27 of 44). Indiana, on the other hand, shot just 41 percent (14 of 34) up close. ... The Pacers outrebounded the Nuggets, who ranked second in the NBA in rebound percentage entering the game, 42-37. ... Indiana had a season-high 27 assists but committed 19 turnovers. ... Roy Hibbert extended his streak of games with at least two blocks to 14 with three.

UP NEXT: For the Pacers, Sunday at Oklahoma City, Wednesday vs. Cleveland, Friday vs. Philadelphia. For the Nuggets, Sunday at New York, Tuesday at Detroit, Wednesday at Minnesota.

• Nuggets: Chandler, Stone
• Pacers: Granger, Johnson

• Nuggets: --
• Pacers: --

• Lead Changes: 14
• Times Tied: 10

• Arena: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #63 Derek Richardson
• Attendance: 15289
• Duration: 2:10