PACERS OUTSCORE DENVER 12-2 IN OT
PACERS 126, NUGGETS 116 (OT)
INDIANAPOLIS» The Nuggets put the ball in Will Barton’s hands with the game tied and time ticking down in regulation, hoping the crafty scorer would exploit his matchup against the Indiana Pacers’ Bojan Bogdanovic.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone expected Barton to drive hard to the basket either to finish at the rim or perhaps draw a foul. Instead, Barton pulled up for a 19-foot, stepback jumper that rimmed out, sending Sunday’s game against the Pacers into overtime.
Chalk it up as a crunchtime learning experience for Barton, who did deliver a game-winning reverse layup against Chicago less than two weeks ago. That’s a byproduct of Denver’s short-handed roster that is missing injured “closers” Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap, Malone said. And of the coach being forced to play his healthy contributors hefty minutes.
The ultimate result? The Nuggets wilted down the stretch of regulation, blowing an eight-point lead with less than three minutes to play, before falling in overtime 126-116.
“I’m still (ticked) off about that one,” said Barton, who finished with 21 points, six rebounds and nine assists in 45 minutes. “That’s one we should have had. I ain’t gonna be able to let this one go until we get on the court again.”
The Pacers (16-11) scored 20 unanswered points in the final 2:39 of regulation and overtime to erase an eight-point Nuggets (14-12) lead and then seize control in extra time.
After Victor Oladipo scored six points in a row to cut the Nuggets’ lead to 114-112, Thaddeus Young put back an Oladipo miss at the rim to tie the score with 5.5 seconds to play. After Barton missed the game-winner, Indiana rode its momentum to begin overtime with a finish inside by Myles Turner, before Oladipo connected on a finger-roll layup and one of his six 3pointers to send the crowd into some of the loudest roars the Nuggets have experienced on the road this season.
Denver, meanwhile, started the extra period with two turnovers and missed its first seven shots to drop to 4-10 on the road and 1-2 on this six-game trip that wraps with a back-to-back set against Detroit and Boston on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“On the road, teams are going to be more amplified,” Barton said. “They’ve got the crowd. They’ve got the energy. Once they make a run, now we’ve got to go to another level. We weren’t able to do that.”
In the first half, it looked like Denver was en route to its most complete road effort of the season by building a 19-point lead and shooting 52.1 percent from the floor. And in the fourth quarter, it looked like the Nuggets would hold off a charge from the Pacers spearheaded by Oladipo, who was masterful in the high pick-and-roll and had a careerhigh 47 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists.
After Indiana sank five 3-pointers in the third quarter to gain a 90- 88 advantage going into the final frame, Denver unleashed its own 3point barrage to retake the lead.
Trey Lyles, who scored a careerhigh 25 points, nailed three of his five shots from deep in the period, including two on back-to-back possessions that put the Nuggets back in front. Barton added his own 3 to give Denver a 103-100 lead with 6:57 to play, before a Gary Harris trey extended that advantage to 114-106 with 2:54 remaining.
Denver did not score again until the final minute of overtime. Malone partially attributed those offensive struggles to exhaustion, as Barton and Harris (21 points, 3-of10 from 3-point range) both played more than 44 minutes and Wilson Chandler (18 points, eight rebounds) and Kenneth Faried (four points, 11 rebounds) both played more than 32.
“I ran our guys into the ground tonight,” Malone said. “They never quit working. They never quit competing. So I’m very proud of our guys.”
Barton did not echo his coach’s positive spin. When asked about his potential game-winning shot at the end of regulation, he said he felt he could have made it but also could have gotten a better look.
And even though he was one of the last players lingering in the Nuggets’ locker room, Barton wished he could stick around longer.
“I pride myself on those moments, and tonight I didn’t deliver,” Barton said. “I wish I could get it back and close it. … You know I want the ball in my hands in those moments.
“I want to stay in this gym and play those last two minutes (of regulation) over again.”