No matter who plays, the Nuggets look clinical.
Even in their first back-to-back of the season, even without their second- and third-best players, the Nuggets cruised to a 117-100 win over the depleted Indiana Pacers on Saturday. Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon were both out, but Denver (7-2) completed a perfect four-game home stand anyway with contributions across the board.
Nikola Jokic overcame eight turnovers with 32 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists. Peyton Watson amassed 16 points, seven boards and three steals filling in as a starter. Tim Hardaway Jr. stayed hot off the bench with a 17-point night.
The Nuggets are now 6-0 at home this season and haven’t trailed in the second half of a game at Ball Arena.
Murray has been dealing with off-and-on calf tightness for the last week. Gordon’s official injury designation was left hamstring management. Their absence was largely precautionary with Denver playing on 24 hours of rest for the first time.
“If you feel something that you know could turn into something worse, I think there is a little bit of apprehension,” David Adelman said of Gordon popping up on the team’s injury report. “But he had some explosive plays last night. And Aaron’s a guy we have to protect in that sense … just because there’s just not that many human beings that are that big, can jump that high, can explode like that.”
Gordon still managed to explode off the bench enough to pick up a technical foul in street clothes while trying to defend Jalen Pickett’s honor to the officials. It happened early in the third quarter. The Pacers had already whittled a 19-point deficit to nine before halftime. Then they capitalized on the technical with a four-point possession, narrowing Denver’s lead to 64-61. Nonetheless, Ball Arena applauded Gordon backing up a teammate.
Pickett was Murray’s replacement in the starting lineup despite having spent Denver’s first eight games outside of the rotation entirely. He, Julian Strawther and two-way wing Spencer Jones stepped in as Adelman went beyond the usual ranks to play a 10-man rotation.
That could be a common strategy this season if the Nuggets sit starters in future back-to-backs.
“I do think it opens up your mind more to a longer rotation,” he said. “That doesn’t mean it’ll happen. But the conversations are a lot deeper about who can play, who fits this game, that maybe hasn’t been in the rotation as much, as opposed to a game like last night. (The Warriors) beat us one time. … We had to get that win for the season series, so maybe you shorten your rotation a little bit. The second night of a back-to-back is very different.”
Jones and Watson combined for an extraordinary defensive night against 2025 Eastern Conference Finals MVP Pascal Siakam. With Tyrese Haliburton out for the year, Siakam has assumed a larger offensive role for Indiana. He was held to a 1-for-10 first half and 14 total points by the end of the evening.
The Nuggets slowly rebuilt their double-digit lead after the brief comeback scare. Somehow, they compiled 39 third-quarter points despite facing an Indiana defense that made them work for all 94 feet. Cam Johnson broke the press with a blow-by in the backcourt that he turned into a circus and-one bucket. He went for 12 points, four assists and no turnovers, turning the corner and getting downhill effectively on dribble handoffs.
Strawther also turned in productive second-half minutes at both ends of the floor. He finished the night with 12 points, six boards and two assists, scoring without his 3-ball.
Strawther, Hardaway, Jones and Bruce Brown were all stars in the plus-minus column — they were responsible for a 12-0 run to end the first quarter, followed by another productive stint with Jonas Valanciunas as their center.