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Pacers vs. Nuggets Recap

Associated Press

Danilo Gallinari scored 19 points, including a 3-pointer to spark a key fourth-quarter run, and the Denver Nuggets hung on to beat the Indiana Pacers 76-73 on Saturday night.

Ty Lawson added 15 points and 10 assists for the Nuggets, who won games on successive nights after losing six of seven coming into the back-to-back set.

David West had 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pacers, who lost for the 10th time in 11 games. Indiana also dropped its sixth straight game in Denver.

Both teams were held to season lows in scoring with Indiana hitting just 30.7 percent of its shots from the field and Denver making 36.6 percent.

With 27.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter, C.J. Miles, who finished with 16 points, made a 3-pointer to even the score at 55-55 heading into the fourth quarter.

Indiana went in front 60-55 on another basket by Miles, but Denver then went on its best offensive stretch of the night. Gallinari hit a 3-pointer, the first by Denver on the night after nine misses, to start a 10-0 run that carried the Nuggets to a 65-60 lead with 7:04 remaining.

Indiana twice cut the deficit to one in the waning minutes, the last on a desperation 3-pointer by Donald Sloan that pulled the Pacers 74-73 with 1.2 seconds left.

The Pacers fouled Arron Afflalo on the inbounds with .6 seconds left and Afflalo made both free throws. Time ran out on the inbounds by the Nuggets to secure the win.

Both teams struggled to convert shots in the first half. Indiana matched its season low in taking a 33-32 halftime lead. Denver had a season first-half low in points. Both squads made only about one third of their shots in the first two quarters.