Jokic Leads Nuggets Past Pacers in Mexico City

Nikola Jokic set the tone early, throwing a lob to Aaron Gordon for a first-quarter dunk and scoring 10 of his 19 points in the opening 12 minutes. Denver led by eight after one quarter and beat the Indiana Pacers 114-102 at Mexico City Arena on Saturday, the AP reported. Jokic finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

Denver is 5-3 and has won four of its last five. Indiana, the designated home team for the NBA’s 35th game south of the border, fell to 3-7 and has lost five of six.

A 15-0 Run Decided It

The game turned in the second quarter. Indiana went four minutes without a basket, Denver ripped off 15 straight points, and a Jamal Murray jumper pushed the lead to 64-37 with under a minute left in the half. The Nuggets went to the locker room up 64-41.

Murray finished with 16 points, eight assists and six rebounds, and Cameron Johnson added 18. Denver’s bench chipped in 43 points, and Spencer Jones played for the first time this season.

The Pacers Made It Interesting

Indiana started 1 for 9 from three, then found its stroke. The Pacers won the third quarter 37-26, with back-to-back Aaron Nesmith threes cutting it to 79-67. Jarace Walker’s three with 7:26 left made it 102-95.

Denver answered with six straight points and that was the ballgame. Gordon put the exclamation point on it, catching a Murray bounce pass and dunking over two Pacers. Pascal Siakam led Indiana with 23 points and Larry Nance Jr. added 15 off the bench. The Pacers played without Tyrese Haliburton, who missed the trip with a hamstring strain.

Jokic Is Feeding Everyone

This was not a scoring night for Jokic, and it did not need to be. His assist totals in Denver’s three games this week were eight against Portland, 11 in a triple-double against Toronto and eight more on Saturday. When he gets the ball at the elbow, the cutters are getting fed.

The math on Saturday was simple. Indiana finished 15 for 48 from three and outscored Denver by 15 points from deep, the Denver Gazette noted, but the Nuggets owned the paint 54-44 and did not give the ball away in bunches. That is how a team survives a cold second half on the road.

The Nuggets head to Houston on Monday to open a three-game road swing through the West, with Memphis and New Orleans next.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on Nikola Jokic assists at Houston on Monday. He has eight or more in all three games this week, including 11 against Toronto, and Denver’s offense ran through his passing again in Mexico City.