The Nuggets staggered into Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Wednesday night licking their literal and metaphorical wounds after dropping a winnable home game against the struggling Mavericks. Jamal Murray missed the fourth quarter of Monday’s game with an ankle sprain, which likely cost Denver the win, and Jokic has been dealing with a nagging wrist annoyance in addition to Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon being sidelined likely until 2026.
Despite being added to the injury report, both Murray and Jokic were in the starting lineup. And as it would turn out, Murray should consider spraining his ankle more often.
Dec 3, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers guard Johnny Furphy (12) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
First Quarter
Cam Johnson got the Nuggets on the board with a corner three after two minutes of inept offense out of the gate. Jokic followed up with a jump hook in the lane, cutting the Pacers’ early lead to 7-5. After Mal and Jok traded baskets, giving the Nuggets their first lead, Ben Sheppard hit a corner trey. Successive Cam, Murray, and Jokic layups kept the Nuggets within 1 at the 5:00 minute mark. Hardaway’s pull-up three and PWat’s transition and-one gave the Nuggets a 8-0 run and a 21-17 lead.
Coach Adelman then opted to give Nikola an early rest, which had no impact on the Nuggets’ run. Murray hit a long, foot-on-the-line three and found Jonas out of a trap to extend the run to 12-0. After a Zeke Nnaji putback, Big Val and Jamal carried the offense to close out the quarter, but the Pacers turned up the defensive intensity (6pts on 4 TOs), squeezing the Nuggets’ lead to 33-28 at the buzzer.
Dec 3, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Denver Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas (17) shoots the ball while Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) defends in the first half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Second Quarter
The Pacers kept up the furious … pace … to start the second. Jarace Walker knocked down a quick three, and Garrison Matthews cut the lead to 39-35 with a transition layup off of a Cam turnover, prompting an Adelman timeout and Joker’s return. Blocks by Big Honey and PWat sparked another 8-0 run before Siakim stopped the bleeding, keeping the Pacers from going down double digits. Nembhard added a pair of freebies and a jumper to cut the lead to 50-45. Jok then found Bruce for a cutting layup, Swatson did his Superman thing on the other end, and Jokic threw the touchdown back to Brown. After another Cam three capped off a 17-6 run, the Nuggets lead was 57-45 with 3:30 left. Jokic piled on a bunny and three to balloon the lead to 21 with just over a minute left, and Mal buried his 4th and 5th threes in the final minute to flurry his way to 23 first-half points.
First half Denver Nugget summary at the Pacers: petition to never play in Ball Arena again this year.
— Gordon Gross (@GMoneyNuggs) December 4, 2025
Third Quarter
The third started the way the second ended, with Murray burying a three. He followed it with a jumper, giving the Nuggets a 77-53 lead two minutes into the 3rd. With the rout in play, the pace ground down and the hacking picked up. Huff nailed a three to pull the Pacers to within 92-68, and the Nuggets took a concession timeout.
After a Huff block on Brown, Mathurin dropped in another three to top off a 8-0 Pacers run. Brown made 1 of 2 FTs after a review confirmed a Huff foul, but Siakim made both, shrinking the lead to 20. Jok and Mal settled things down with back-to-back buckets, and Bruce splashed a corner three to take the lead back to 100-75 with 1:25 left in the 3rd. McConnell’s fadeaway jumper at the baseline closed out the quarter and seemed to give Indiana a sliver of life heading into the final push.
Fourth Quarter
The Pacers started the 4th in desperation mode against the Nuggets reserves. A quick two followed by a Matthews corner three shrunk the lead to 102-84. Walker’s triple made the run 12-0 before Big Val took to the post, drawing a shooting foul (1/2). Indiana continued to hack, racking up a 3rd team foul with 9:55 left. THJ dropped a three on a nice Murray feed, inching the lead back to 18. But a pair of FTs followed by McConnell picking Murray’s pocket at midcourt provoked a Nuggets timeout.
Jokic continued to sit as Murray led with his 34th and 35th points from the line and a deep three. Peyton swatted a McConnell jumper from behind, but the Nuggets couldn’t convert in transition and fouled Siakim on the other end, which he did convert. Jonas committed an offensive foul, the Pacers found an easy layup in transition, and Denver was forced to call another timeout as the lead deflated to 111-98.
What makes these Jamal Murray games so fun is the total lack of grifting. He’s up to 47 points with only five free-throw attempts. Maybe the most ethical guard in the NBA.
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) December 4, 2025
Jokic was brought back at the 7:00-minute mark to restore order and immediately scored. Murray then hit a step-back J for points 40 and 41 before the Nuggets sent the Pacers to the line for what seemed like the 20th time in the quarter. Determined to will a battered lineup to the win, Mal knocked down his 8th trey, then rolled in a 9th off the front rim for his 47th point. Indiana did their best to stay close, but Murray would not be denied, hitting a 10th three from the corner (10/11). Siakim matched and was then sent to the line for the Pacers’ 13th and 14th free throws (1/2) with 3:20 to go, but it was far too little, too late.
Carlisle threw in the towel with Jokic and Murray staying in to seal the win and burn some clock. After hitting his 19th shot on 25 attempts and giving the Nuggets an insurmountable 133-118 lead, Murray brought out the Blue Arrow, and Adelman pulled the starters.
FINAL SCORE: Denver Nuggets 135, Indiana Pacers 120
GAME NOTES:
The 8th-straight road win is a Nuggets franchise record (9-2 total)
Murray’s 10 threes was the second all-time for the Nuggets
Jamal Murray is an All-Star