After a tough loss against the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday, the Denver Nuggets were professional to start their four-game road trip through the top of the Eastern Conference.

Nikola Jokic set a new career-high with 19 assists in the Nuggets 125-116 win over the Indiana Pacers. The Nuggets had an impressive team win all the way around on Monday night, attacking the paint relentlessly to make up for a poor interior scoring performance a couple days ago.

The Nuggets scored 74 points in the paint, and there were a variety of contributors on that front. Aaron Gordon led the way with 25 points, shooting 11-of-17 from the field and 2-of-4 from three-point range. Though his shooting was impressive Gordon’s ability to create his own shot at the rim and find the gaps in the defense for Jokic passes was still very impressive.

Christian Braun also had 17 points of his own, shooting 7-of-11 from the field without taking a single three. Every single shot Braun attempted was inside the restricted area, and he made the Pacers pay for having Tyrese Haliburton guard him for most of the evening.

Jokic. in addition to the 19 assists he accumulated, had 18 points, nine rebounds, four steals, and a block. There were concerns early on about how few shots he was taking tonight after what happened vs the Lakers, but Jokic stayed true to his convictions and helped the Nuggets generate a good shot almost every single time. He was amazing creating offense tonight and dictated everything that happened, even if it only led to 14 shot attempts of his own. He was 9-of-14 and had 19 assists, which is extremely impressive for almost anyone. For Jokic, it’s just another Monday.

Michael Porter Jr. struggled initially to find his spots, but he finished the game with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists. Though he shot 1-of-4 from three, he was 8-of-12 from two-point range and used his size to his advantage, scoring over shorter wing defenders like Aaron Nesmith, Bennedict Mathurin, and others.

Oh, and Zeke Nnaji had 14 points in 25 bench minutes. Gordon dealt with some foul trouble tonight, but Nnaji’s ability to impact the game from the bench was notable. He still grabbed zero defensive rebounds, but two blocks and some impressive defensive possessions more than made up for it, as did his interior scoring on the other end.

Jamal Murray shot 4-of-4 from three and had 16 points. Gordon was an aforementioned 2-of-4 from three. Nnaji hit his only attempt. The rest of the Nuggets shot just 1-of-12 from distance though. It wasn’t a big part of Denver’s game plan, and it didn’t have to be. When the opposing team can’t stop the paint attack, the Nuggets commit hard to it, and that downhill aggressiveness worked well tonight.

Bounce Back

When a team gets thrashed on their home floor, it can send a pretty clear message that the group needs to be better. The Nuggets weren’t ready for last Saturday, and that could have lingered into the first game of their road trip. It didn’t.

I thought, top to bottom, the Nuggets handled this game in an extremely professional manner. They did have 19 turnovers, and there are certainly aspects to clean up on both ends of the floor; however, Denver largely executed their game plan well. The Pacers were top six in paint points per game heading into tonight, but they shot below their average around the rim. The Nuggets didn’t limit the Pacers’ three-point attempts, but they also contested most of those shots well. The Nuggets also forced 17 turnovers, an above standard mark for them against a Pacers team that usually takes care of the ball pretty well.

In addition, the Nuggets got back to what they know: attacking the paint. The Pacers had little hope of slowing them down, and Denver’s size at every position in the starting lineup really stood out in this matchup. The Nuggets were relentless, grabbed offensive rebounds, and shared the ball well to generate the best shot possible.

Jokic is, of course, at the center of that. I loved his approach tonight. Don’t force the issue, and keep involving teammates, because the moment he makes “scoring more” about himself, the moment he loses some of the identity of who he is. When the shots he’s getting are in a better rhythm, he will take more of them, I have no doubt. For now, setting assist records for a center isn’t the worst thing in the world.

The Nuggets are now 1-0 on this road trip. They play three more games against good Eastern Conference teams. Let’s see how they handle things the rest of the way.

Final Rotations