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11/07 19:41 CST Nuggets beat the Pacers 114-102 in Mexico City behind Nikola
Jokic's 19 points
Nuggets beat the Pacers 114-102 in Mexico City behind Nikola Jokic's 19 points
By CARLOS RODRIGUEZ
AP Sports Writer
MEXICO CITY (AP) --- Nikola Jokic scored 10 of his 19 points in the first
quarter and the Denver Nuggets beat the Indiana Pacers 114-102 in Mexico City.
Jokic also grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out eight assists, while Cameron
Johnson added 18 points and Jamal Murray finished with 16 for the Nuggets, who
have won four of their last five games.
"I just try to play the game the right way, hopefully we can win more games; to
win is the most important thing, I do not think about stats," Jokic said.
Pascal Siakam scored 23 points and Larry Nance Jr. added 15 off the bench for
the Pacers, who were the home team in the NBA's 35th game played south of the
border. Indiana has lost five of its last six games.
The Pacers played without All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton, who missed the trip
due to a hamstring strain.
Denver capitalized on a four-minute Indiana scoring drought in the second
quarter with a 15-0 run. Murray's jumper extended the Nuggets' lead to 64-37
--- their largest of the game --- with less than a minute remaining in the
first half.
"It was tough environment, we are not used to this, the altitude and everything
is hard to get going," Siakam said. "Our force and energy was better in the
second half, but it was not enough."
The Pacers responded in the third quarter, pulling closer following
back-to-back 3-pointers from Aaron Nesmith that cut the score to 79-67. A layup
by Quenton Jackson with 1:16 left in the quarter further trimmed Denver's lead
to 10.
Jarace Walker hit a 3-pointer that brought Indiana within 102-95 with 7:26 left
to play, but the Nuggets answered with six straight points to restore a
double-digit lead and secure the win.
The game marked the 35th NBA appearance in the country since the league first
brought exhibition games to Mexico in 1992.
No country outside the United States and Canada has hosted more.
Of those 34 previous matchups, 15 were regular-season games, and the last 12
--- including Saturday's tilt between Indiana and Denver --- sold out.
"The energy was awesome, I got to admit that there is an atmosphere to this
building, when we got out on the court you could feel the juice, and the
energy," said Nuggets coach David Adelman. "The NBA is global and it belongs
here too."
Up next Nuggets: At Houston on Monday night. Pacers: At Dallas on Monday night. ___ See AP's full NBA coverage here |
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