Nuggets rout Pacers in London
Nikola Jokic had 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, Wilson Chandler scored 21 points, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Indiana Pacers 140-112 on Thursday in London, England.
Danilo Gallinari scored 18 points and Kenneth Faried finished with 15 points and nine rebounds for the Nuggets (15-23), who set their season high in points to stop a five-game skid in the NBA Global Games London 2017.
C.J. Miles led Indiana with 20 points off the bench and Jeff Teague scored 14. The Pacers (20-19) had their five-game winning streak snapped.
Paul George was held to 10 points on 2-of-12 shooting.
It was the seventh NBA regular season game played in London and the first since last Jan. 14 when the Toronto Raptors beat the Orlando Magic.
The game was broadcast on NBATV as well as the Nuggets and Pacers local networks. The Nuggets on-air personalities called the game while hosting Denver president Josh Kroenke, Hall of Fame guard Isiah Thomas and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.
Silver spoke about the global reach of the NBA, noting that 25 percent of players are born outside the United States and basketball is the No. 1 sport in China.
While Silver talked, the Nuggets built an insurmountable lead when the Pacers went cold and got sloppy with the ball. Leading 81-63 after Myles Turner hit a 3-pointer, Denver went on a 19-4 run to build a 100-67 advantage with 3:05 left in the third quarter.
The highlight was a driving dunk by Emmanuel Mudiay that made it 91-65.
Jokic had a double-double in the third quarter as Denver led by as many as 33. The Nuggets outscored the Pacers 39-20 in the third to take a 106-76 lead into the fourth.
The lead grew to 115-81 early in the fourth when Jameer Nelson hit Faried with an alley-oop.
The game was close in the second quarter but the Nuggets set the tone for the second half at the end of the second quarter when George hit a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left. Denver caught the Pacers napping and Chandler hit Gary Harris with full-court pass for an easy layup and a 67-56 lead at intermission.
NOTES: Nuggets C Nikola Jokic was back in the lineup after missing Saturday's game in Oklahoma City win an illness. ... Pacers F Paul George is eighth among frontcourt players in fan voting for the Eastern Conference All-Star Game starters. Cleveland's LeBron James leads all Eastern Conference players in voting. ... Nuggets F Darrell Arthur was not available because of knee soreness. The sore knee has bothered him on and off all season. ... Pacers G Monta Ellis was wearing a clear mask for the second straight game. Ellis suffered a broken nose against Detroit on Jan. 3 but didn't wear the mask for the game against Brooklyn two days later. He donned it for Saturday's win over the Knicks.