LOS ANGELES, Jan 15, 2024 (AFP) – Nikola Jokic was just one of three Denver players to score 25 points on Sunday and the defending champion Nuggets kept Indiana’s high-octane offense in check in a 117-109 NBA victory over the Pacers.
Jokic just missed his 13th triple-double of the season, adding 12 rebounds and nine assists.
Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray scored 25 points apiece and Aaron Gordon added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who shot a season-high 64.8% from the field.
Jokic continued his ruthlessly efficient scoring, connecting on 12 of 13 shots from the floor.
All five Nuggets starters were in double figures by the end of the third quarter and Denver held the NBA’s top-scoring offense to its fifth-fewest points this season.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone was disappointed by his team’s season-worst 21 turnovers, but full of praise for Porter, who drilled seven three-pointers in what Malone called “a complete basketball game.”
“It was easy looks,” Porter said. “My teammates were finding me so I didn’t have to work too hard for my shots.”
Porter said the Nuggets were focused on cooling off the Pacers’ red-hot offense.
“We knew they wanted to push the pace,” he said, joking that the Nuggets had a little extra motivation to prevent former teammate Bruce Brown from getting a win in his return to Denver.
Brown, who played a key role off the bench in the Nuggets’ title run last season, signed with the Pacers as a free agent.
He was awarded his championship ring in a ceremony before the game.
“He won a championship with us so he’s our brother for life,” Porter said. “So it was good to see him.”
Brown led Indiana with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists but the Pacers, who had won nine of their previous 10 games, couldn’t maintain a four-point third quarter lead.