Alright, let’s be honest. When you saw Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon were rocking street clothes for the second night of a back-to-back, you probably thought the Denver Nuggets were in for a long one. A classic trap game against a struggling Indiana Pacers squad? The script writes itself. But someone forgot to give Nikola Jokic a copy.
Jokic decided that scripts are for movies, and he’s more of a one-man improv show. The result? A casual 32 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 assists as the Nuggets cruised past the Pacers 117-100. For those keeping score at home, that’s his sixth triple-double in just nine games this season. It’s getting ridiculous. He’s playing a different sport, and the rest of the league is just trying to figure out the rules.
No Murray, No Gordon, No Problem
The Nuggets trotted out a starting lineup that had fans frantically googling “Who is Jalen Pickett?” With Murray nursing a tight calf and Gordon resting a tender hamstring, a smart move considering his injury history, it was next man up. Peyton Watson, stepping into the starting five, looked like he belonged, dropping a season-high 16 points and reminding everyone that Denver’s bench has some serious bite.
You could almost feel the Pacers sniffing blood in the water. They’ve been having a rough go, losing eight of their first nine, and this looked like their chance to steal one on the road. They even got Andrew Nembhard back in the lineup, and he came out firing with 22 points. Aaron Nesmith did his part, leading Indiana with 25.
But here’s the thing about playing the Nuggets: even when they’re wounded, they still have a 7-foot Serbian cheat code.
The Joker’s Wild Ride
From the opening tip, Jokic was doing Jokic things. No-look passes that seemed to have their own GPS, rebounds snatched out of the air like he was picking apples, and scoring with the bored efficiency of a guy just trying to get through his shift. He was so in control that he even sprinkled in a season-high eight turnovers, probably just to prove he’s human. (The jury’s still out on that one).
The Pacers made a run. They cut the lead to three in the third quarter, helped by a technical foul on Gordon for, I assume, cheering too hard from the bench. But just when the Pacers thought they had a shot, Jokic slammed the door, kicked it off its hinges, and then used it for a pick-and-roll.
A deep three-pointer midway through the fourth stretched the lead to 21, and that was all she wrote for the Pacers. It was a masterclass in how one player can completely dominate a game without ever seeming to break a sweat.
What’s Next For Both Squads?
For the Nuggets, this was a statement win that wrapped up a perfect 4-0 homestand. They’ve proven they can win ugly, win pretty, and win with half their stars on the inactive list. They’ll take their 7-2 record on the road to face the Kings in what should be a barnburner.
As for the Pacers, it’s back to the drawing board. At 1-8, things are looking bleak. They head to Golden State next, which is about as gentle as a root canal. They showed flashes of life and got a key player back, but they just had no answer for the best player on the planet. And let’s be real, who does?
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