INDIANAPOLIS—The Indiana Pacers made their first 20 shots of the third quarter, missing out on a perfect period when Josh McRoberts was off on a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Denver Nuggets 144-113 on Tuesday night.
Mike Dunleavy scored 24 of his 31 points in the Pacers’ 54-point period. Indiana, which shot 64 percent overall, led 113-76 at the end of the third quarter.
Darren Collison scored 29 points, Tyler Hansbrough had 20 points and nine rebounds, and Danny Granger added 19 points for the Pacers (3-3). Indiana set league season highs for points, field goals made and field-goal percentage.
Ty Lawson led Denver with 19 points and Arron Afflalo added 17. Carmelo Anthony scored 13 points on 5-for-15 shooting for the Nuggets (4-4).
Indiana shot 52 percent from the field in the first half to take a 59-49 lead at the break, but that was just the beginning.
Dunleavy made all five of his 3-point attempts in the quarter, including one that gave Indiana its 100th point with 2:49 left. The Pacers outscored Denver 54-27 in the period to take a 113-76 lead.
Indiana had 17 assists and made 8-of-9 3-pointers in the 12-minute span.
Pacers coach Jim O’Brien had criticized Dunleavy for missing open shots, but the guard made 9-of-13 field goals, including 6-of-10 3-pointers. Granger had shot 8 for 31 from the field past two games, but bounced back and shot 8 for 10.
The Pacers made 31-of-39 shots in the second half, and their largest lead was 39 points.
Notes: Granger and Indiana Fever forward Tamika Catchings were honored before the game for winning gold medals at the World Championships. … Denver F Al Harrington, who played his first six seasons with the Pacers, scored nine points. … Pacers F-C Jeff Foster sat out with a sprained right ankle. … Pacers G Brandon Rush scored 16 points in his first game since being suspended for the first five games of the season for violating the league’s drug agreement.
