It took a great distance for the Denver Nuggets to fully understand how far they have traveled this season. As they near the halfway point of the season, Denver is again on pace for a 30-ish win season, but their 15th win of the 2016-17 campaign felt like they’ve covered new ground. Denver played a complete offensive and defensive game, defeating the Indiana Pacers 140-112 in London as part of the NBA’s Global Games.
Despite a busy week of travel, promotional events, sightseeing and additional media sessions, the Nuggets played one of their best games of the season against a Pacers team currently on pace to finish fifth or sixth in the competitive Eastern Conference. Nikola Jokic was three assists shy of that elusive first career triple-double, although his 22 points led all scorers. Six Nuggets scored in double figures and every Denver starter had a plus-minus of plus-22 or better.
Denver outscored Indiana by 29 points in the second and third quarters to take a commanding lead and run away with what could be a turning point game in their season. The Nuggets have struggled to find cohesion this year, but they looked like a bonded group in this performance. Now, we wait to see if it sticks.
The Nuggets return to Denver for an afternoon affair with the Orlando Magic on Monday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day. Tipoff is at 3 p.m. MT at Pepsi Center.
