Denver Nuggets 125 – Indiana Pacers 116 (Feb. 24th, 2025) Recap

Source: Dylan Buell / Getty

(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) – Nikola Jokic’s second half takeover leads the Denver Nuggets (38-20) to a victory over the Indiana Pacers (32-24).

1. First Quarter

Entering tonight, Denver was one of two teams that Indiana had yet to face. Tonight’s starters in the first matchup against the Nuggets were Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. Indiana managed to stay within striking distance early, but Aaron Gordon scored eight straight points to give Denver an early 13-5 advantage. He would give the Nuggets their largest lead in the opening quarter at eleven with a layup. Indiana drew within three points when Haliburton knocked down a three, but that was as close as the Pacers got after the game was tied at five points in the quarter. After twelve minutes, Denver’s advantage was 36-28. Gordon led all scorers with 12 points followed by Jamal Murray and Myles Turner with 8 points. Nikola Jokic was held to four points on 2/3 shooting, but he dished out seven assists in the process.

2. Second Quarter

In the first quarter you could tell that the Pacers were on the second night of a back-to-back. They lacked energy and a pep in their step. Denver was able to push its lead to a first half high thirteen points when Gordon converted a layup with 7:55 left in the half. Indiana would chip away at its deficit and would be energized by Obi Toppin. He brought the Pacers within a point after back-to-back breakaway dunks, but Denver responded with a Michael Porter Jr. dunk. The Nuggets pushed the lead back to a touchdown with over a minute left in the half. Indiana would only cut its deficit by a point after two possessions. At halftime, Indiana trailed Denver 64-58. Nesmith led all scorers in the second quarter with 7 points. Gordon led all scorers at the break with 16 points in just under ten minutes of play. Indiana’s leading scorer was Turner with 14 points. Murray also chipped in with 14 points for Denver in the first half. Jokic was held to 6 points, 9 assists, and 2 rebounds in the first half. Haliburton was quiet for Indiana with 6 points on 2/3 shooting, but did dish out 8 assists.  

3. Third Quarter

Indiana did not come out of the locker room ready to start the second half. Denver quickly doubled its lead to a dozen points in less than two minutes. Jokic recorded two assists and two points, thus being responsible for all six points. Indiana didn’t have many answers in the third quarter for Jokic, Porter Jr. or Gordon. The Pacers cut the deficit to seven points, but that was closest they would get. A three-pointer for Gordon extended the Denver advantage to 14 points with 4:58 left in the quarter. That would be the largest lead for the Nuggets until Julian Strawther scored on a reverse layup off a pass from Jokic with 6.4 seconds left. Denver was leading 100-83 after three quarters. Jokic’s third quarter stat line was 10 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds. Indiana’s leading scorer in the period was Bennedict Mathurin with 6 points. Jokic, Porter Jr., and Gordon combined to score 25 of the 36 points for the Nuggets in the quarter. Indiana’s starters only scored 13 points. The Pacers went ice cold from deep, shooting 2/10 from three-point range. Going into the final quarter, Gordon paced all scorers with 23 points. Indiana was led in scoring by Turner with 18 points.

4. Fourth Quarter

With Indiana having such a steep deficit, Rick Carlisle was forced to play the best five players on the night in the fourth quarter for the entire quarter. Haliburton, Sheppard, Nesmith, Siakam, and Turner played every second of the final quarter. Those five would make it a single digit ballgame with 7:02 left in the game when Siakam got to the goal for a layup. The closest the team got in the final quarter was six after a Sheppard triple with 3:40 left in the contest. With 2:37 left in the game, Denver extended the advantage back to 11 points after six points from Christian Braun. Indiana couldn’t respond after the timeout and snapped its three-game winning streak with a 125-116 loss to the Denver Nuggets.

5. Top Performers

Aaron Gordon (25p, 5r), Michael Porter Jr. (19p, 11r, 3a), Nikola Jokic (18p, 19a, 9r, 4s), Christian Braun (17p, 8r), Jamal Murray (16p, 6a), and Zeke Nnaji (14p). For Indiana, Myles Turner (23p, 2r, 2a, 3s, 1b), Tyrese Haliburton (19p, 15a, 3s), Pascal Siakam (19p, 9r, 2a), Aaron Nesmith (17p, 4r), and Obi Toppin (11p). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana is now 32-24 on the season and 16-10 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
  • Indiana is 16-6 in 2025
  • Indiana is 2-1 since the All-Star break
• Indiana is now 3-6 on the second night of back-to-backs
• Denver improves to 8-0 versus teams on the second night of a back-to-back
• Denver has won 9 straight games versus Indiana
  • 6 straight in Indianapolis
• Denver’s starters outscored Indiana’s starters 95-84
• Denver’s starters all scored 16+ points
• Denver had 6 players score 14+ points
• Aaron Gordon has scored 20+ points in 5 games this season
• Aaron Gordon has scored 20+ points in back-to-back games for the first time this season
• Aaron Nesmith has scored 13+ points in 3 straight games
• Ben Sheppard tied a career high in rebounds with 7
• Bennedict Mathurin’s 19 minutes are the second fewest in a game this season
• Michael Porter Jr. recorded his 9th double-double of the season
• Myles Turner has scored 20+ points in 10 games
• Myles Turner’s 39 minutes tied the second most in a game this season
• Nikola Jokic recorded his 44th double-double of the season
  • Jokic finished a rebound shy of recording his 28th triple-double of the season
• Nikola Jokic recorded a career-high 19 assists
• Nikola Jokic failed to record an offensive rebound for the 3rd time of the season
• Tyrese Haliburton recorded his 17th double-double of the season
• Tyrese Haliburton has made 4+ threes in 5 of his last 6 games
• Tyrese Haliburton’s 15 assists tied a season high
• Tyrese Haliburton played 40+ minutes for the 4th time on the season

7. Next Up

Indiana will wrap up its four-game homestand on Wednesday when the Toronto Raptors visit Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Pat Boylan will get things started with the pregame show at 6:30pm and then Mark Boyle will have the play-by-play with Eddie Gill at 7pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.