BY MICHAEL MAROT
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Nikola Jokic scored 31 points as part of his 13th triple-double of the season to help the Denver Nuggets beat the Indiana Pacers 114-109 on Tuesday night.
Jokic’s final basket — a 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds left — sealed the win. The All-Star forward also had 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the Nuggets won their third straight overall and their eighth consecutive win over the Pacers.
Jamal Murray also scored 31 points.
Myles Turner had 22 points to lead the Pacers and Pascal Siakam added 16 points and 10 rebounds in his first home game since being traded to Indiana last week. All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton again sat out with a strained left hamstring and already has been ruled out of Indiana’s next two games.
The Pacers have lost three straight overall, this one coming on a night that included the third-quarter ejection of Indiana coach Rick Carlisle and two of the league’s five highest-scoring teams struggling, at times, offensively.
Still, the defending NBA champions got just enough scoring punch — and just enough defense — from their top two players to fend off Indiana’s late push after taking a 93-81 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Pacers methodically their way back, tying the score at 100 before taking a 103-102 lead on Ben Sheppard’s 3-pointer with 3:42 left. Coach Michael Malone won a challenge on the Nuggets’ ensuing series, after the Nuggets appeared to turn it over. Instead, they kept the ball and Jokic made a 3 to give Denver a 105-102 lead.
The score was tied twice more but Jokic’s basket with 98 seconds left gave Denver a 109-107 lead and the Nuggets closed it out.
