Pacers wrap up first half with 113-103 loss to Nuggets

INDIANAPOLIS — Michael Porter Jr. scored 24 points and Nikola Jokic added 20 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists Thursday night, leading the Denver Nuggets past the Indiana Pacers 113-103.

Denver closed out the first half of the season with four straight road wins.

Indiana was led by Myles Turner‘s 22 points and a season-high tying 12 rebounds, but lost for the fifth time in six games. Domantas Sabonis had his fourth triple-double this season with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as the Pacers lost their fifth in a row at home.

The Nuggets first took control early in the second quarter and then built a 66-54 lead early in the third.

But after the Pacers rallied to tie the score at 68, Denver outscored Indiana 14-6 over the final 5 1/2 minutes and sealed the victory with a 12-0 spurt midway through the fourth.

Doug McDermott: “We hope we can get it done in the second half. We know we have a tough schedule right off the bat, but we still feel like we can play with anybody, and hopefully we can get some of those guys back that have been injured.”#AlwaysGame pic.twitter.com/vNamOofyqN

— FOX Sports Indiana (@FSIndiana) March 5, 2021

TIP-INS

Nuggets: Jokic also had eight assists. … Porter also had 11 rebounds, giving him five double-doubles in the last six games. … Jamal Murray finished with 23 points, his 12th consecutive game with 22 or more points. … Will Barton had 16 points and six rebounds. … Denver had 19 turnovers and was 12 of 28 on 3s. … The Nuggets are 12-8 on the road. … Denver now leads the all-time series 47-46.

Pacers: Turner had three blocks to extend the league’s longest active streak of consecutive games with at least one to 51. … Sabonis also had four steals. … One day after T.J. McConnell recorded the second triple-double of his career, he came off the bench to score 10 points, grab five rebounds and dish out four assists. … Doug McDermott finished with 20 points and Justin Holiday had 16. … This is the latest in the season Indiana has been under .500 since going 39-40 in 2016-17.

PULLING THROUGH

The Nuggets won despite being severely short-handed Thursday. Three players — guards Facundo Campazzo, R.J. Hampton and Markus Howard — all missed the game because of the COVID-19 protocols. Forwards Paul Millsap (sprained left knee) and JaMychal Green (sprained left shoulder) also sat out, along with with guard Gary Harris (strained left abductor muscle). Harris played high school basketball at nearby Hamilton Southeastern and was the state’s 2012 Mr. Basketball Award winner.

UP NEXT

Nuggets: Make the final stop of a five-game trip March 12 at Memphis.

Pacers: Open the second half March 12 at the Los Angeles Lakers.