It was the first real bad rest spot for the Denver Nuggets this season, but they took care of business anyway.

Denver won 117-100 against the Indiana Pacers in what ended up being a matter-of-fact affair. The game got close early in the third quarter after the Pacers made a run, but the Nuggets answered the call with stronger defense and what turned out to be an unstoppable paint offense.

Nikola Jokic put together another impressive night with 32 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 assists, leading a Nuggets group that didn’t have their best stuff missing two starters. Jokic himself started the game slowly with four first quarter turnovers, but his consistency, efficiency, and control of the game were on display the rest of the night. He was simply unguardable for an undersized Pacers front line.

“For me, in this modern generation of basketball, please show me who else is out there that plays like this at this efficient level offensively,” David Adelman intoned about the Nuggets center’s level he’s showing right now. “It’s a joy to watch.”

Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon sat out the second night of the back-to-back with various bits of injury management. In their place, Jalen Pickett and Peyton Watson started respectively.

Pickett struggled throughout the night to get involved as the Nuggets played almost exclusively through Nikola Jokic and their wings at the top of the key. He also struggled defensively against a bigger, more athletic Pacers guard group.

Peyton Watson though? He had a strong night, especially defensively. Watson matched up with Pacers star Pascal Siakam and helped hold the All-Star to just 14 points on 16 shots. Siakam started the game 1-of-10 and only recovered after things got out of hand.

“I think that a lot of times, guys are expecting contact, and they throw up a shot that they can’t necessarily make,” Watson declared of his success tonight against Siakam. “As long as you don’t foul them, and you kind of keep the contact marginal, for the most part, you should be good. That’s what happened tonight.”

Watson also got out in transition consistently. He was the recipient of several Jokic hit-ahead passes in transition leading to easy points. Watson finished with five dunks, a three-pointer in the corner off a no-look Jokic pass, and 16 points in total to go with seven rebounds and three steals. It was exactly the kind of two-way performance the Nuggets are hoping for when Watson fills in for Gordon.

Cam Johnson also got a bit more involved in primary actions tonight without Murray and Gordon out there. He didn’t make his threes, but Johnson operated well in pick and roll and dribble handoffs with Jokic, driving to the rim with his right hand and even collecting an And-1 while beating press coverage. Johnson accumulated 12 points, four assists, and two steals, an understated solid game for a player that’s struggled to accumulate scoring production.

I mean, who could have foreseen this playing out with Johnson the way it’s played out?

Off the bench, the Nuggets got great production from Tim Hardaway Jr. once again with 17 points, shooting 5-of-9 from three-point range. The savvy veteran just keeps finding the range, doing exactly what the Nuggets need him to do. This back-to-back was especially important for Hardaway to provide spacing without Murray or Gordon on the floor. Outside of Hardaway’s shooting, the Nuggets shot a paltry 3-of-18 from distance. Oh, and he accumulated four assists too.

Julian Strawther and Spencer Jones also played rotation minutes, doing exactly what they needed to do to help the team win. Strawther brought extra slashing and creation off the dribble, and he also made some plays defensively. Jones brought great defensive hustle and physicality, and he also hit a corner three. It was great to see them find the extra time and take advantage of it.

Overall, a 4-0 home stand is nothing to sneeze at.

But what about a 4-0 home stand with all four wins when the average margin of victory was 14.5 points? That’s stellar.

There was never any point in a fourth quarter during this four-game run when I thought the Nuggets might actually lose. Looking back on the wins the Nuggets achieved in the first 10 games of the season last year and seeing those margins of victory (2, 5, 26, 2, 2, 13, 2) is a really interesting comparison.

The Nuggets are taking care of business. They’re not playing great teams yet, but they’re playing who’s in front of them and playing well. This would’ve been an easy opportunity to slip up, and yet the Nuggets are instead locking in defensively and making the process a priority.

Exciting times in the Mile High City for a lot of teams, but especially your Denver Nuggets.