Game Rewind: Pacers 120, Nuggets 135

Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7:00 PM ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse

Game Recap

The Indiana Pacers hosted the Denver Nuggets in a cross-conference matchup on Wednesday evening, and each was after a win after falling short in their respective games on Monday. Indiana fell to Cleveland, and Denver lost at home to the Mavericks. Denver came out ahead of Indiana, 135-120. 

Indiana stuck with the Nuggets through the opening minutes of action – the game was tied at 12 at the midpoint of the first quarter – but Denver owns the NBA’s best first quarter point differential, and flexed that muscle down the stretch of the period. A 15-5 run by the Nuggets had coach Rick Carlisle calling a timeout as his Pacers trailed Denver, 27-17, with three minutes to play in the quarter. 

Nikola Jokic checked out of the game and headed to the locker room with four minutes to go in the opening frame, but returned to the Nuggets’ bench before the conclusion of the quarter.

Indiana trailed by five points after the first period, 33-28.

Jokic returned to the floor in the second quarter and Denver quickly built back its lead. Indiana trailed by six points at the 7:24 mark, 45-39. 

That lead grew by the four-minute mark despite Andrew Nembhard’s and Pascal Siakam’s effort to lift Indiana’s offense. Denver’s defense was suffocating in the painted area – the Pacers’ drives often resulted in turnovers and tough shots. 

The Nuggets outscored Indiana 39-20 in the second period, and led by 24 points at halftime, 72-48.

Jamal Murray led all scorers with his 23 first half points, Jokic trailed with 12 points, six rebounds, and six assists, and Nembhard led Indiana with nine points and three rebounds. Mathurin also notched nine points for the Pacers, and Siakam recorded eight first half points.

Indiana’s defense needed a spark of energy in the second half after Denver knocked down over 67 percent of its looks in the first half, including 60 percent from deep. 

Ben Sheppard showed a spark on the offensive end to open the half – he threw down a dunk, grabbed a steal, and knocked down a 3-pointer in a 25-second stretch. Indiana still trailed, 75-53. 

Sheppard continued his groove throughout the third quarter, tallying 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting. It kept Indiana afloat, but Indiana gained just a point on the Nuggets, and trailed by 23 points heading into the final period, 102-79.  

Indiana had more to give, and opened the fourth quarter with a 9-1 run to cut the lead down to 15 points. A backcourt steal by McConnell powered a Siakam layup that brought the Pacers within 14 points, and forced a Nuggets timeout with nine minutes remaining. 

Murray continued his hot stretch of scoring as Denver pulled away from the Pacers, and knocked down six shots in the final quarter. His 10 3-pointers in the game is a new career-high, and he became just the tenth player to score 50+ points against the Pacers in Indiana in NBA franchise history. 

Carlisle pulled the Pacers starters with just under three minutes to play as Indiana trailed 131-116. 

The Nuggets defeated the Pacers, 135-120, and fell to 4-18 on the season. 

Siakam led the Blue and Gold with 23 points, and was Indiana’s lone 20-point scorer. Murray led all scorers with his 52, and Jokic recorded 24 points, eight rebounds, and 13 assists. 

The Pacers will regroup and travel to Chicago where they’ll match up with the Bulls on Friday, Dec. 5, at 8:00 PM ET.

Inside the Numbers

The Pacers had six players score in double-digits after having zero at halftime. 

Jamal Murray’s 52 points on Wednesday marks the second time in as many games that Indiana has conceded over 40 points to an opposing player. It’s the second-highest total by an opponent against the Pacers this season. 

Indiana shot 52 percent from the field on Wednesday, marking the third game in 22 contests that the Pacers have shot better than 50 percent. 

The Nuggets’ 59 percent shooting is the best field goal percentage by a Pacers opponent this season.

Denver shot better from 3-point range (60.7 percent) than it did overall (59 percent). 

You Can Quote Me on That

“Murray was phenomenal. He’s a very underrated player. For a lot of reasons I guess people just don’t know how special he is…Tip your hat to that performance.” – coach Rick Carlisle on Jamal Murray’s performance

“We’ve just got to do better. I’ve got to coach better. We’ve got to play better. It’s a slim margin situation, that’s pretty obvious, but there’s always room for improvement.” – Carlisle on Indiana’s path forward

“He's playing hard, he's playing fast, he's playing unselfish. He's applying pressure full court. These are elements that we need. Him shooting the ball 5-for-5 is no surprise. I mean, he can shoot the ball. The key thing is that through all the challenges, he's just remained true to who he is and stepped into the shots that are his shots.” – Carlisle on Ben Sheppard’s recent streak

“I love playing with Shepp. Moves really well, brings a lot of energy, he’s fun to be around. When he’s hitting shots he can be a real help for this team.” – Andrew Nembhard on Sheppard

“I think it's a little bit better. We had a little more structure. I think we’ve got to find a combination…I know in the past, we've been so random. I think finding structure in what we're doing is probably important, and I think we're doing better.” – Pascal Siakam on Indiana’s offense

“We’ve just got to keep improving, having defense be the thing that we hang our hats on. We’ve got to really be better at that. That's two games now where I feel like our defense wasn't there for the whole game, like it's been before. So we’ve got to correct that.” – Siakam on Indiana’s defensive struggles 

“Staying in the gym, stepping into my shots with confidence, every game I don’t know where my shots are going to come from. The ebbs and flows of every game are different…Staying grounded and staying in the gym, and doing all the work I can to just step into those shots confidently.” – Sheppard on how he stays prepared through a shooting slump

Stat of the Night

Denver’s 60.7 percent from 3-point range on Wednesday marked the best performance from deep by an Indiana opponent this season by a full 15.5 percent.

Noteworthy

• The Pacers are 47-57 against the Nuggets all-time. 
• Jamal Murray’s 52-point game on Wednesday was just the 10th 50-point game by an opponent against the Pacers at home in NBA franchise history. 
• Murray is another Canadian guard, and has played on Canadian national teams with Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin. 
• Wednesday’s contest marked Pascal Siakam’s 650th career game, and 140th with Indiana.

Up Next

Indiana travels to Chicago to match up with Josh Giddey and the Bulls on Friday, Dec. 5, 8:00 PM ET.

Tickets

The Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host DeMar DeRozan and the Sacramento Kings on Monday, Dec. 8 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets >>