Nuggets at Pacers
THE STORY: Getting out of town might be the best thing for the Denver Nuggets, who have lost five straight games overall and their last five at home. The Nuggets have to figure that Saturday night's road game at Indiana can't be as bad as the previous trip, when the Pacers blitzed Denver by hitting 20 consecutive shots in a 54-point third quarter in November 2010. The Pacers haven’t shown that kind of firepower this season, particularly in losing three of their last four.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ALT2 (Denver), FSIN (Indiana), NBA TV
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (15-12): Denver has been riddled by injuries, a big reason why it has lost seven of eight games. Leading scorer Danilo Gallinari is out until next month and center Timofey Mozgov has been sidelined four straight games. Corey Brewer has missed three games following the death of his father, but is expected to join the team in Indiana. Guard Arron Afflalo, who has also been battling injuries, is coming off a season-high 26-point effort that included five 3-pointers.
ABOUT THE PACERS (17-9): Indiana dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season with Friday’s 98-92 loss at Memphis. Danny Granger scored 19 points and is averaging 21.5 points in his last 10 games. David West had his best all-around game with the Pacers, posting season highs with 22 points and 13 rebounds, but Paul George continues to struggle with his shooting. George is 12 of 43 (27.9 percent) from the floor in the last four games, connecting on only four of 20 3-point attempts.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Nuggets will sign F Wilson Chandler as soon as his Chinese Basketball Association season is over. He was acquired last season in the Carmelo Anthony trade.
2. Indiana has notched the two highest point totals in franchise history (145 in 1991, 144 in 2010) against Denver.