Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) prepares to make a move in a game against the Indiana Pacers at Ball Arena. | Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Denver, Colorado–Michael Porter Jr. was 7-for-11 from 3-point range to finish with 25 points, one of four players with 20 or more points, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Indiana Pacers 117-109 on Sunday.
Nikola Jokic had 25 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists, Jamal Murray also scored 25 and had eight assists, Aaron Gordon finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 11 points for the Nuggets, who improved to 17-4 at home.
Bruce Brown had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Indiana in his first game in Denver since winning the NBA title with the Nuggets in June. Buddy Hield had 16 points for the Pacers.
Bennedict Mathurin, Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard and Isaiah Jackson all added 12 points and Obi Toppin contributed 11 points for Indiana.
The Pacers opened the third quarter strong to lead 71-67 but Denver rallied to take an 85-77 lead.
Mathurin drained a 3-pointer from the top of the circle to pull Indiana within 89-84 heading into the fourth quarter.
Murray opened the final period with a pair of turnaround jumpers to increase the lead to nine but Mathurin scored seven straight Pacers points to get them within 95-91.
Jokic came back into the game, fed Porter for a 3-pointer and scored four points of his own to get the lead up to 104-95 with 4:57 left.
Brown hit a layup but Porter drained another 3-pointer and Jokic tipped in a miss from Murray to make it 109-97. Indiana made another push and got within eight with a chance to get closer, but Hield missed a 24-foot shot.
Jokic made a short jumper and split a pair of free throws, and Gordon tipped in the miss to seal the win.
Indiana trailed by nine but used a 13-4 run that spanned the first and second quarters to take a 31-28 lead. The lead grew to four midway through the second before the Nuggets responded with a 14-3 run.
Denver increased the advantage to 59-50 late in the half but Brown hit a 3-pointer and a layup at the horn to cut the margin to 60-57 at halftime.
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