Nikola Jokic didn't have to be the 32-point version from the Toronto win. He finished with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists, 2 assists short of a triple-double, and he spent the night setting up everyone else while the lead got out of hand. The preview's big question for Denver was whether the starters who all scored in double figures against the Raptors would carry that over. A 37-point 2nd quarter answers it well enough at the team level, even if the box-score search didn't give a line for Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon or the recently probable DeMar DeRozan.
Pascal Siakam did what the preview said Indiana needed. He led the Pacers with 23 points, 3 more than he scored in the Memphis win. The trouble was that nobody else showed up for the first 24 minutes. The Pacers were playing at a neutral site with a depleted backcourt, and the first half looked exactly like the injury report said it would.
The 3rd quarter is the part Indiana can actually hang onto. The Pacers won it 37-26 and cut a 23-point halftime deficit to 12 going into the 4th. It's the same thing this group did in Memphis, where it won the 4th quarter on the road, and the same thing the 6-man team did when it came within 4 of Atlanta. They don't fold. The problem was the gap. Denver matched them 24-24 in the 4th, which is how you close out a game you're already winning by 12.
Denver has now won its last 2 and is 4-1 over its last 5, with both road games in that stretch going its way, and this was a business trip handled like one. Indiana has lost 4 of its last 5. Siakam is producing, but the Pacers can't keep spotting good teams 20 points before halftime while Haliburton's return still has no timetable. The 2nd half proves this roster competes. The 1st half proves it isn't ready to win nights like this yet.
