Nuggets Crush Pacers in NBA London Blowout - Hoopsfix.com

Nuggets Crush Pacers in NBA London Blowout

Denver Nuggets claimed an emphatic 140-112 victory over the Indiana Pacers in what turned out to be a heavily one-sided NBA regular-season contest at The O2 Arena, on Thursday evening.

As snow descended outside the North Greenwich venue, there was nothing cold about Denver’s shooting as they launched a 3-point barrage with 15-of-32 made.

While the game failed to deliver another close encounter, there was still plenty of entertainment provided before the game fizzled out in front of a sellout crowd.

Nikola Jokic top scored with a game-high of 22 points complimented by 10 rebounds and seven assists with Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari adding 21 and 18 points respectively.

Gallinari welcomed the London crowd and then opened the scoring; setting the tone for Denver’s hot start from downtown with three triples in an 11-4 run.

The Italian would have 11 points in the opening period to propel the designated ‘home’ side before the Pacers gradually got themselves going with Jeff Teague contributing eight points and six assists as the gap was cut down to a single point at 30-29.

The fast paced action continued in the second quarter with the game still relatively close until Denver went on a 10-2 run to establish a double-digit advantage with Gary Harris’ late basket handing his side a 67-56 half-time lead.

The Nuggets were quick out of the blocks in the third, too, with a 14-4 start as they continued to capitalise on careless turnovers from their opponents.

Myles Turner knocked down his first three to try and spark some life into the Pacers before seeing that optimism immediately drained by picking up his fourth foul at the other end.

The Nuggets were relentless and the threes kept dropping as their lead ballooned to 30 with five minutes to go in the third. Soon after, the century mark was hit following a three from Chandler and Denver led 106-76 with another 12 minutes to go.

Kenneth Faried began to turn on the style at the rim in the fourth, while veteran guard Jameer Nelson landed two more triples to compound the Pacers’ misery.

Jokic and Gallinari received a deserved ovation as they came out of the game with three minutes to go, leading to the introduction of 2-time NBA champion Mike Miller – inserted into the game for the first time.

The points continued to flow as the Nuggets racked up their season-high of 140 points before Jamal Murray dribbled out an impressive win.

Paul George was the superstar everyone was looking forward to seeing, but he was held to just 10 points with CJ Miles netting a team-high 20 off the bench with six triples.

While it proved to be a deeply disappointing night for the Pacers, there’s no doubt Denver wish they could play in London every night.

Notes
– This was the seventh NBA Global Games regular-season contest in London at The O2 Arena
– Paul George debuted the Nike PG1 – his first signature shoe – more here
– Pacers came into the game with a 20-18 record having won five straight, while the Nuggets were 14-23 having lost five straight
– As is accustomed with the NBA Global Games in London, there were a number of celebrities in attendance from Premier League footballers to musicians and actors amongst others
– In an annual tradition, NBA Legends were welcomed onto the court during a break in the game with Britain’s John Amaechi joined by Isaiah Thomas, Dikembe Mutombo
– Denver’s 140-point total was the highest team total at the NBA Global Games London even beating New Jersey Nets’ 137 points which came in their 3OT thriller in 2011
– The 28-point margin of victory was the largest of the seven NBA Global Games contests in London

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