Nikola Jokic had 32 points and 14 rebounds, Will Barton and Michael Porter Jr. scored 20 points each and the host Denver Nuggets rallied to beat the Indiana Pacers 121-106 on Monday night.
JaMychal Green and Jamal Murray added 16 apiece for the Nuggets, who outscored the Pacers 34-15 in the fourth quarter.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 24 points, Justin Holiday added 19, Caris LeVert had 17, Doug McDermott scored 12 and Domantas Sabonis had 10 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds for Indiana.
The game was scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. Mountain time but was pushed back an hour due to the snowstorm that blanketed Colorado over the weekend. Denver International Airport was closed from early Sunday until mid-afternoon on Monday, stranding the Pacers in Phoenix. The Pacers arrived in Denver at approximately 2 p.m. local time Monday.
Indiana looked fresh in the third quarter when it rallied from nine down at halftime to take the lead. The Pacers opened the period on a 17-7 run to move on top 73-72, their first lead of the game. Myles Turner and LeVert hit 3-pointers to extend the advantage to 79-74 with 5:36 left in the third.
The Nuggets rallied to go retake the lead 85-84 on a tip-in by Jokic, but Indiana led 91-87 heading into the fourth.
Denver surged back in front to start the final quarter. Green hit a 3-pointer to start a 14-0 run to open the period. Indiana missed its first six shots and had four turnovers before Sabonis ended the drought by sinking a put-back layup with 7:05 left.
Barton hit a 3-pointer and Jokic also drilled one from deep and a 16-footer to make it 109-93 with 4:56 left, and the Nuggets closed it out from there.
The game was tied after the first quarter, but the Nuggets went on a 22-2 run to go ahead 57-37 with 5:23 left in the second. Indiana held Denver without a field goal for more than four minutes and scored 12 straight points to get within eight.
Denver led 65-56 at the half.
–Field Level Media