While car ignitions turned in the Pepsi Center parking lot, the home team, suddenly, froze the rest of the stragglers’ mid-exit.
Down nine points Tuesday with a minute left, the Nuggets made a flurry of long-range rainbows, and J.R. Smith’s off-balance 3-pointer, with 11.4 seconds left, cut the Pacers’ lead to two.
Indiana made one free throw, and Smith was questionably fouled by Mike Dunleavy while shooting a 3 — with 2.7 seconds left.
“I am a Christian. I go to church,” Dunleavy said with a hint of a smile. “(But) God may not be a Pacer fan.”
First free throw — front rim, back rim, in.
Second free throw — swish.
Third free throw — front rim, back rim, out.
The Pacers won 112-110, after a last-second free throw, handing Denver its third loss in the past four games.
“The thing I told J.R. is — keep your head up, because we wouldn’t have been in that situation if you didn’t hit the big shots you hit,” Denver captain Allen Iverson said. “You got us there, and we can accept that. You live and die with what me and Carmelo (Anthony) do, and you have to do the same with our teammates.”
Three nights after the Nuggets shot a season-low 35.4 percent, they shot just 36.1 against the Pacers. The Nuggets were without three key injured players, notably starting power forward Kenyon Martin (bone bruise in knee). And center Marcus Camby, the NBA’s top rebounder with 15 per game, didn’t participate in the morning shootaround and played under the weather. In the first half, he went scoreless with just two rebounds, and though he played 41 minutes, he finished with just five points and 12 rebounds. The Pacers finished with 59 rebounds, while Denver had 47.
Nuggets coach George Karl said Dunleavy is the “glue” to the Pacers (7-8), and against Karl’s team, Dunleavy scored a season-high 30 points. Iverson led Denver (9-6) with 26.
The Pacers led early. By a lot. With the Nuggets down 15-0 (Indiana went for two on the second touchdown), Karl finally inserted guard Anthony Carter to energize the Nuggets. On cue, Carter stole the ball from Indiana guard Jamaal Tinsley, bolting down court for a layup for the Nuggets’ first field goal — with 7:45 left in the first quarter.
Carter played 17 minutes in the first half, sparking Denver, which trailed just 56-50 at the half.
“That’s my job right now,” Carter said. “If I don’t come out and do that, I won’t get any minutes.”
Carter played 33 minutes, finishing with a mouth-watering line of 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals — one more than the entire Pacers team.
Footnote. Nuggets guard Mike Wilks said after the game he was released. Wilks averaged 3.0 points for the Nuggets, and his minutes dwindled of late. The Nuggets are in need of another big man, with Nene (thumb) and Steven Hunter (knee) each out for at least another month.
Nuggets Recap
What you might have missed
In the third quarter, Indiana center David Harrison dunked the ball and hung on the rim, his legs swinging in Eduardo Najera’s face. The next time down the court, the former Colorado star went up for another dunk. But Carmelo Anthony viciously blocked the shot, which also knocked Harrison to the ground.
Final thought
It was obviously a gritty effort late, but the Nuggets couldn’t control the paint all night, because so many big men were injured. The Pacers had 56 points in the paint, while Denver had 28.
Up next
At Los Angeles Lakers, 8:30 p.m., Thursday.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
