DENVER 113, INDIANA 106
Anthony, Iverson overwhelm Pacers
By Conrad Brunner | Nov. 10, 2007
For a half, they were the new, run-and-gun, pass-and-cut, fun-to-watch Pacers, rolling up a stunning 74 points in building an 18-point lead over visiting Denver.
As has been increasingly evident this week, however, old habits are proving very hard to break.
Following a brilliant first half with an inept second, the Pacers lost their offensive tempo, defensive commitment and ultimately the game. With Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson combining for 59 points, the Nuggets wiped out a 25-point deficit and used a 12-point run down the stretch to pull out a 113-106 victory before 12,748 Saturday in Conseco Fieldhouse.
It was the third straight loss for the Pacers (3-3) and seventh in a row against the Nuggets (4-3), who were playing their fourth road game in five nights.
"I don't even like the word frustration," said Coach Jim O'Brien. "I think that's a sign of weakness. After six games, being 3-3, certainly there's no reason to be frustrated. I hate losing, and everybody in that locker room hates losing but we have a challenge to build the habits that will make us a playoff team."
In building some, they must break others, particularly the tendency for the offense to lose its unpredictability and movement under pressure.
"The good news is we've showed we can play that way," said O'Brien, referring to his preferred up-tempo pace. "The bad news is we haven't shown the ability to sustain it."
The Pacers rolled out to a 63-38 lead midway through the second quarter and were up 74-56 at the break but the Nuggets quickly made a game of it by raining in 3-pointers. Yakhouba Diawara hit a pair of threes in a 10-point run to open the second half, and later Anthony, Eduardo Najera and J.R. Smith hit consecutive threes to cut the deficit to 85-80.
The Pacers appeared to regain their stride midway through the fourth behind Jamaal Tinsley and Jermaine O'Neal, scoring five in a row to take a 101-97 lead with 3:28 remaining, but the Pacers missed their next seven shots while Denver scored a dozen in a row to take a 109-101 lead, with Allen Iverson's 3-pointer with 26 seconds remaining the punctuation.
“In the second half, we made bad decisions and took bad shots," said Danny Granger, who scored13 points but was 6-of-18 from the field, missing all six of his 3-point attempts. "We have to figure out a way to close out a game. We knew they were going to come at us because they have Iverson and Carmelo. We know that we can compete with any team but we’ve got to learn to do it for 48 minutes on both ends of the floor.”
The Pacers had more turnovers (13) than field goals (12) in the second half when they were 12-of-43 overall (.279) and 2-of-15 from the arc. The Nuggets, on the other hand, made 9-of-19 from the arc in the second half.
Troy Murphy led the Pacers with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Mike Dunleavy scored 17 with six rebounds and four assists. The two focal points of the offense, however, struggled mightily. Granger and Jermaine O'Neal (5-of-14) combined to make 11-of-32 shots and were 5-of-20 in the second half. O'Neal did have 12 rebounds and four assists. Shawne Williams scored 12 off the bench.
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