Denver beat Indiana 114–102 in Mexico City on Saturday, but the score doesn't quite capture the Pacers' frustrating evening. They spent the first half watching the Nuggets build a 27-point lead, then fought their way back to within seven in the fourth quarter. The rally was real. So was the damage done before it began.
Indiana's biggest problem was the second quarter. Denver won it 37–22, including a 15–0 burst during a four-minute Pacers scoring drought. By half-time, the Nuggets led 64–41. It's hard to chase a team built around Nikola Jokić when you've given it that much breathing room, particularly when the opposition can keep moving the ball even when its star isn't shooting especially well. The official NBA recap records the decisive run and Indiana's subsequent response.
Jokić finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, but shot just 7-of-20. That's the interesting part of Denver's win: its offence didn't need an unstoppable scoring performance from its centre. Cameron Johnson supplied 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting, Jamal Murray scored 16, and Denver found enough contributions across the rotation to turn the Pacers' attention away from any single threat. The Nuggets' official box score shows how widely that work was shared.
Indiana did produce a response worthy of a closer game. After trailing 64–41 at the break, it won the third quarter 37–26. Aaron Nesmith hit consecutive threes to cut the margin to 12, and Quenton Jackson's late lay-up brought it to 10. Jarace Walker then hit a three to make it 102–95 with 7:26 remaining. A 27-point deficit had become a seven-point game, and suddenly Denver had to execute rather than simply protect the clock.
The Nuggets answered with six straight points. That sequence mattered more than the final 12-point margin: Indiana had spent enormous energy making the game competitive, only to find that Denver could still create the next clean possession. The Pacers' fast-break advantage of 21–8 reflected the speed of their comeback, but Denver's 54–44 edge in paint points and 16 made free throws to Indiana's five helped it control the more deliberate stretches.
Pascal Siakam scored 23 for Indiana, while Larry Nance Jr. gave the bench a sharp perimeter lift with 15 points on five made threes. Ivica Zubac added 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Andrew Nembhard distributed eight assists. The Pacers' official box score makes clear that the second-half fight wasn't just one player's scoring burst. There were useful contributions across the line-up, even if they arrived after the contest had tilted heavily Denver's way.
The Pacers played without Tyrese Haliburton, whose hamstring strain kept him off the Mexico City trip. That absence made the extended second-quarter scoring drought especially costly: Indiana needed someone to steady its half-court possessions while Denver piled on points. Siakam's production and Nance's outside shooting gave them ways back, but the early offence left too much to repair.
For Denver, the result was a fourth win in five games and a reminder of the value of multiple reliable scoring options around Jokić. For Indiana, the lesson is more immediate than a vague call for consistency. The Pacers showed they can change a game's tempo and make a serious run; they can't keep requiring a furious comeback just to reach the point where one good Denver possession decides the night.
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