The Denver Nuggets failed to execute down the stretch and dropped a tough one to the Indiana Pacers in overtime on Saturday night. The Nuggets had their chances in the fourth quarter to put the Pacers away after overcoming a sizable first half deficit to force overtime on the road, but their execution in overtime was too sloppy as they fell 109-104 and finish their road trip with a 1-2 record.
When/Where
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse – Indianapolis, IN
Stars of the Game
The starting five all get the nod tonight as they all contributed mightily in a tough road loss. Each starter finished the game with at least 35 minutes on the court, while nobody on the bench played more than Darrell Arthur‘s 18.
Emmanuel Mudiay – Mudiay missed four straight shots in the first half, but finished with 11 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. A couple of his assists showed off the special court vision that keeps Nuggets fans salivating over his potential as a point guard in this league, including this beautiful dime to Nikola Jokic.
Danilo Gallinari – Gallo had a relatively quiet game, but still managed to pour in 23 points on 8-17 shooting against one of the leagues best wing defenders in Paul George. The Italian knocked down all six of his free throws and looked aggressive getting to the rim once again.
Gary Harris – Harris had his mom’s full attention tonight as she promised not to miss any action this time. Gary did not disappoint scoring 18 points on 7-11 shooting, hitting 2-3 on both 3-pointers and free throws and adding 3 assists and 1 block and steal apiece. Despite the lack of steals, Harris pestered the Pacers’ guards all night long and looked comfortable shooting his jumper and going hard to the rim alike.
Kenneth Faried – The Manimal brought the energy tonight, adding another double-double to his resume and providing much of the offense that brought the Nuggets back into the game in the third quarter. Faried finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds as well as a number of the emphatic dunks that he is so well known for.
Nikola Jokic – Jokic looked tentative around the basket early on as Jordan Hill shadowed his every move, but seemed to assert himself in the second half and finally start to look comfortable taking it to Hill down low. The Joker finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5 steals en route to his second straight double-double and third in the last four games. His work on the offensive glass was especially important down the stretch.
Turning Point
The Nuggets tried to trap Monta Ellis with just over 20 seconds left in overtime, but Ellis snaked through the defense and drew a foul while sinking a tough layup in the paint giving the Pacers a four-point lead. The Nuggets wouldn’t even get a shot off on the ensuing possession, going down in a tough way after a hard-fought game.
Toe the Line
Even while the Nuggets were falling behind in the first half, they were building a sizable advantage at the charity stripe. Denver finished the first half 12-15 from the line compared to only 2-3 for Indiana and they would stay pretty even the rest of the way, finishing 21-25 compared to the Pacers’ 12-16. That margin could be part of the reason for a number of no-calls late in the game on Nuggets’ drives into the paint.
Where the Hill did that come from?
Jordan Hill set a career high with 6 blocks in tonight’s game, getting five in the first half alone, which matched his previous career high, set during his 2009-10 rookie season and accomplished once more during the 2011-12 campaign. The Nuggets have struggled all season with attacking opposing centers in the paint, and that was no different tonight as they made Hill look like Dikembe Mutombo. Finishing at the rim is something that must improve, especially for the Nuggets youngsters, as they play out the rest of the season.
Get on the Glass!
The Nuggets dug themselves a deep hole in the first half by giving up rebound after rebound to the Pacers. Denver’s bigs were continually stuck in bad position under the rim and the rest of the team was nowhere to be found leading to a 27-19 rebounding advantage for the Pacers and 11 extra field goal attempts. The Nuggets did close the rebounding gap, finishing with 45 to the Pacers’ 49, which coincided perfectly with the Nuggets playing themselves back into the game.
Plays of the Game
Will Barton made his case for inclusion in this year’s slam dunk contest with a couple of thunderous, acrobatic james in the first half.
Quote of the Game
“We’ve been decent most of the year in terms of late-game execution, but tonight we did an awful job.” -Nuggets head coach Michael Malone
Lasting Impact
The Nuggets have spent most of the season dead in the middle of the eighth playoff spot and the second-to-worst record in the West. Tonight’s loss sends the Nuggets right back into the Western Conference lottery doldrums as they now sit four games behind the Trail Blazers for the final playoff spot and four ahead of the Suns and Timberwolves, who are tied for the second-to-worst record in the conference.
Up Next
Monday, February 1 vs. Toronto Raptors, 7:00 p.m. MST
Toronto comes to Denver riding an 11 game winning streak, starting with four straight road wins, then winning out on their seven game homestand. The Nuggets will look to hand the Raptors their first loss since falling to LeBron James and the Cavaliers in Cleveland on January 4th.
