Game Rewind: Pacers 115, Nuggets 107

The streak is over. For the first time in nearly 13 years, the Pacers won in Denver.

Doug McDermott scored 18 points in the fourth quarter and Domantas Sabonis registered his first career triple-double to lead Indiana (28-15) to a 115-107 win over the Nuggets (29-13) on Sunday night. The victory was the fifth straight for the Pacers and their first in the Mile High City since Nov. 27, 2007.

Denver led throughout the first three quarters and took a seven-point lead into the fourth.

But McDermott triggered a Pacers rally in the fourth quarter. The 6-8 forward scored on a backdoor cut on Indiana's opening possession of the frame, then later drilled a 3-pointer at 9:19.

Still, the Nuggets led 91-83 before Justin Holiday hit a three at 7:55 and then McDermott followed with another triple — his fourth of the night — at 7:27. After the Nuggets missed on the other end, the Pacers pushed the break and T.J. McConnell connected with McDermott for the game-tying layup with 6:59 remaining.

The Nuggets retook the lead shortly thereafter, but McDermott came up big again a few minutes later, spotting up in the left corner and drilling yet another three — this one off a dish from Sabonis — to give Indiana a 98-97 lead with 4:13 remaining.

"The hoop felt big and my teammates did a good job of finding me," McDermott told FOX Sports Indiana's Jeremiah Johnson after the game. "Just good to see some go in."

The Pacers then went to Sabonis down the stretch and the 6-11 Lithuanian big man responded, scoring six straight points for the Blue & Gold to help them build a 104-99 lead.

After two Nikola Jokic free throws, Sabonis and McDermott connected once again. Off a pick-and-roll, Malcolm Brogdon dished to Sabonis, who quickly redirected the ball to McDermott in the left corner. McDermott drained his sixth three of the night, giving Sabonis his 10th assist and a triple-double in the process.

Will Barton answered with a three-point play on the other end to make it a three-point game with 1:02 remaining before Brogdon delivered the exclamation point, driving past Mason Plumlee and throwing down a thunderous, one-handed slam.

McDermott finished with a team-high 24 points off the bench, going 9-for-10 from the field and 6-for-7 from 3-point range. Sabonis added 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists.

"It's about time I made some shots for him," McDermott quipped about Sabonis' milestone. "He's been close to a few triple-doubles this year, but those are the nights I wasn't hitting. It's good to see him come out here and continue to do what he (has been). He's an All-Star, he's a great player. He's a lot of fun to play with."

The Pacers' offense sputtered in the opening minutes on Sunday night. Indiana missed its first nine shots and committed three turnovers. But fortunately the Nuggets weren't exactly scorching the nets on the other end, only managing to open up a 6-0 lead.

T.J. Warren finally got the visitors on the board with a three-point play with 7:49 remaining in the first quarter. Warren scored nine of the Blue & Gold's first 13 points, but Indiana trailed 21-15 after the opening frame.

Denver extended its lead to as many as nine points in the second quarter before the Pacers mounted a charge, eventually climbing within one following Brogdon's 3-pointer with 2:49 left in the first half.

The Nuggets responded with a 9-2 run before Brogdon's layup in the closing seconds made it 50-44 at the break.

Jokic scored the Nuggets' first seven points after halftime, helping the hosts open up a 57-47 lead. Denver kept Indiana at bay throughout the third quarter, leading by as many as 11 and taking an 81-74 advantage into the fourth quarter.

Brogdon finished with 22 points and eight assists for Indiana, while Warren also scored 22 on 7-of-13 shooting. Justin Holiday added 14 points off the bench, going 3-for-7 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Jokic led all scorers with 30 points but did not record a field goal in the fourth quarter. He also tallied 10 rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

Will Barton added 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists for Denver, while Jerami Grant finished with 16 points and five boards.

The Nuggets were down three starters, as Jamal Murray (ankle), Gary Harris (thigh), and Paul Millsap (knee) all missed Sunday's contest due to injury.

Indiana will continue its road trip on Monday night in Utah, where they meet former Pacer Bojan Bogdanovic and the Jazz on the second night of a back-to-back.

The Pacers scored 41 points in the fourth quarter, their most in the final frame this season. Their previous high was 38 points in the fourth quarter of a win over Boston on Dec. 11.

Sabonis' triple-double was the first by a Pacers player in the regular season since George Hill on Feb. 27, 2015 against Cleveland.

McDermott's six 3-pointers are a new career high and his 24 points are his most ever in a Pacers uniform. His season high entering Sunday was 19 points in a win over Washington on Nov. 6.

Indiana held Denver to just three 3-pointers on 23 attempts (13 percent), the fewest made threes by a Pacers opponent this season.

The Nuggets outscored Indiana 64-48 in the paint.

"I think we're playing good basketball. Defensively, we've been able to get stops. Offensively, we've been able to execute and win these close games down the stretch. I think it's a sign of these guys being connected out there and staying hungry." -Pacers head coach Nate McMillan

"I've said it all year, he’s done everything for us. It's really hard to believe he's only had one triple-double. He's all over the place. He gets people involved, sets all his screens, rebounds, scores, passes. He does everything. We don't win without him tonight, obviously." -Pacers guard T.J. McConnell on Sabonis

"We just played really well together out there in the fourth quarter. We had a lot of shots fall and I thought we did a good job on defense and rebounding." -McDermott

"One-on-one containment and Doug McDermott killed us. Sabonis killed us. Fourth quarter, they had six offensive rebounds. The very few times they did miss, they just pushed us around, much more physical than us. Disappointing loss." -Nuggets head coach Michael Malone

"I think we got relaxed. We didn't play with a sense of urgency, especially in the second half. I felt like we kind of gave that one away." -Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr.

The Pacers won in Denver on Sunday for the first time since George W. Bush was still President. Prior to Sunday, the Pacers had lost nine straight games in Denver plus a "road" game against the Nuggets in London in 2017. Their last road win over the Nuggets was a 112-110 victory on Nov. 27, 2007.

The Pacers travel to Utah to take on the Jazz on Monday, Jan. 20 at 9:00 PM ET.

After a five-game road trip, the Pacers will return home to host the Chicago Bulls at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Jan. 29 at 7:00 PM ET. All-Star guard Victor Oladipo plans to make his season debut that night. Find Tickets »

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