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National Basketball Association
Denver 140, Indiana 112
When: 3:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 12, 2017
Where: The O2 Arena, London
Officials: #33 Sean Corbin, #29 Mark Lindsay, #23 Jason Phillips
Attendance: 18689

A change of scenery and a chance to spend time together made all the difference for the Denver Nuggets.

Denver traveled 4,683 miles to play a home game, and the trek paid off with one of its best games of the year.

Nikola Jokic had 22 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, Wilson Chandler scored 21 points, and the Nuggets beat the Indiana Pacers 140-112 on Thursday at O2 Arena in London, England.

Danilo Gallinari scored 18 points and Kenneth Faried finished with 15 points and nine rebounds for the Nuggets (15-23), who set their season high in points to stop a five-game skid in the NBA Global Games London 2017.

Denver flew to England on Monday and spent three days together in London. The experience helped the team grow together, and the results showed on the court.

"We had a little more time to be with each other. Usually when we travel it's just one day but we had a little bit more bonding and everybody knows each other better," Jokic said. "This is good for our future."

The Nuggets also had a season-high 37 assists. Denver scored 73 points in the second half, which was also a season high.

C.J. Miles led Indiana with 20 points off the bench and Jeff Teague scored 14. The Pacers (20-19) had their five-game winning streak snapped.

Paul George was held to 10 points on 2-of-12 shooting.

"We've been playing well and tonight we weren't even close to the team we've been this season," Indiana coach Nate McMillan told reporters in London after the game. "We knew Denver was going to be hungry after dropping five games, we knew they would come out aggressive."

McMillan refused to blame his team's performance on the venue.

"They traveled farther than we did," he said. "We had to prepare just as Denver did."

It was the seventh NBA regular-season game played in London and the first since last Jan. 14 when the Toronto Raptors beat the Orlando Magic. The crowd was mixed between fans of both teams and was energetic throughout, Faried said.

"I haven't played in front of crowd like that since the World Cup Games," Faried said on the Nuggets' broadcast. "It was nice to see. It was a packed arena and it was a great atmosphere."

The game was broadcast on NBATV as well as the Nuggets and Pacers local networks. The Nuggets' on-air personalities called the game while hosting Denver president Josh Kroenke, Hall of Fame guard Isiah Thomas and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver.

Silver spoke about the global reach of the NBA, noting that 25 percent of players are born outside the United States and basketball is the No. 1 sport in China.

While Silver talked, the Nuggets built an insurmountable lead when the Pacers went cold and got sloppy with the ball. Leading 81-63 after Myles Turner hit a 3-pointer, Denver went on a 19-4 run to build a 100-67 advantage with 3:05 left in the third quarter.

The highlight was a driving dunk by Emmanuel Mudiay that made it 91-65.

"They seemed to be much faster than us," McMillan said. "Their motor was much faster throughout the game. We seemed to be like we were running in mud. Just total domination from Denver."

Jokic had a double-double in the third quarter as Denver led by as many as 33. The Nuggets outscored the Pacers 39-20 in the third to take a 106-76 lead into the fourth.

The lead grew to 115-81 early in the fourth when Jameer Nelson hit Faried with an alley-oop.

"One of our best games of the season, obviously coming at the right time," Nuggets Michael Malone said.

The game was close in the second quarter but the Nuggets set the tone for the second half at the end of the second quarter when George hit a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left. Denver caught the Pacers napping and Chandler hit Gary Harris with full-court pass for an easy layup and a 67-56 lead at intermission.

NOTES: Nuggets C Nikola Jokic was back in the lineup after missing Saturday's game in Oklahoma City win an illness. ... Pacers F Paul George is eighth among frontcourt players in fan voting for the Eastern Conference All-Star Game starters. Cleveland's LeBron James leads all Eastern Conference players in voting. ... Nuggets F Darrell Arthur was not available because of knee soreness. The sore knee has bothered him on and off all season. ... Pacers G Monta Ellis was wearing a clear mask for the second straight game. Ellis suffered a broken nose against Detroit on Jan. 3 but didn't wear the mask for the game against Brooklyn two days later. He donned it for Saturday's win over the Knicks.
Top Game Performances
 
Indiana   Denver
CJ Miles 20 Scoring Nikola Jokic 22
Jeff Teague 9 Assists Nikola Jokic 8
Myles Turner 6 Rebounds Nikola Jokic 10
Monta Ellis 4 Free Throws Made Nikola Jokic 6
Paul George 4 Steals Wilson Chandler 2
Glenn Robinson III 1 Blocks Kenneth Faried 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Indiana 112 46.8 12-29 12-13 26 34 4 9 16
Denver 140 57.8 15-32 21-23 37 47 5 10 15
Upcoming Games
  • Denver will play their next game at home against Orlando. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .435 after a loss.
  • Indiana will play their next game at home against New Orleans. The Pacers have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .632 after a loss.