Myles Turner scored 24 points to lead the Pacers to a 125-120 win over the Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver, giving Indiana its first win over the Nuggets in nine tries going back to Jan. 19. 2020.
The Pacers improved to 47-31, matching last year's win total and maintaining a three-game lead over the Bucks for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Nuggets fell to 47-32 and sit in fifth place in the West.
Forward Obi Toppin added 22 points for the Pacers, starting in place of injured Pascal Siakam at power forward. Guard Andrew Nembhard added 19 points and six assists. Forward Aaron Nesmith scored 17 points, guard T.J. McConnell had 12 points and forward Jarace Walker had 11. All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton scored just nine points, but had 13 assists. MVP candidate Nikoa Jokic posted 41 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists to led the Nuggets and guard Christian Braun added 30 points.
Here are three observations.
Tyrese Haliburton went scoreless in the first half but made the offense whirl
Haliburton attempted just one field goal in the first half, missing on a 3-point attempt and getting called for a foul on replay for kicking his leg out on the shot. However, he was much less passive than he often is when taking that few shots and his approach to the way he was defended created the ball movement that got the Pacers' offense going.
The Nuggets blitzed ball screens and sent near constant double teams Haliburton's way to get the ball out of his hands and he obliged by either finding the open man or finding the man who found the open man. He had eight first-half assists and would have had several more if they gave those out the same way they do in hockey. He finally got room for his own shot in the second half and wasn't as successful as he would have hoped, scoring nine points on 3 of 8 shooting including 1 of 6 from 3-point range, but he finished with 14 assists against three turnovers. With him running the show the Pacers scored 74 points in the middle two quarters and finished the game with 1.20 points per possession.
Nikola Jokic dominant until the fourth
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic put up another stat line that should help him keep pace with Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for MVP honors, but the Pacers were able to keep him quiet in the fourth quarter and that was enough for them to hold on.
Jokic scored 21 of the Nuggets 33 first-quarter points on 9 of 15 shooting. By halftime, he had 29 points, nine assists and six rebounds, and early in the third quarter he already had more than 30 points and a triple-double. However, in the fourth quarter, Jokic scored four points on 2 of 5 shooting and didn't record an assist in 8:09 on the floor. He also committed a critical turnover with 15.8 seconds to go with the Nuggets down just two points, trying to pass backward out of the double team, missing guard Russell Westbrook and throwing the ball into the backcourt. The Nuggets were just 8 of 20 from the floor and 2 of 6 from 3 in the period for 23 points, just 0.90 per possession, and the Pacers managed to outlast the Nuggets.
Obi Toppin stepped up in Pascal Siakam's absence
Obi Toppin made his second start of the season with Pascal Siakam missing his second game in his Pacers tenure -- his first for injury reasons.
When Siakam missed the Pacers' March 17 game against the Timberwolves for personal reaons, Toppin scored 34 points including 12 at overtime to help them score their most improbable win of the season. The Pacers didn't need quite that much from Toppin on Sunday night because unlike in that game in Minnesota, they still had the rest of their starters available, but he still ...
