The Indiana Pacers missed just one floor shot in a 54-point third quarter and cruised to a 144-113 rout of the visiting Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.
The Pacers (3-3) made their first 20 shots of the third quarter - including eight 3-pointers - with the only miss being Josh McRoberts’ 3-pointer in the final seconds of the 12-minute period.
The 54-point splurge tied for fourth-best in a quarter in NBA history. The record of 58 was set in 1972 by the Buffalo Braves.
Mike Dunleavy scored 24 points in the period, three less than the Nuggets. The explosion expanded a 59-49 halftime lead to 113-76 entering the fourth quarter.
Dunleavy finished with 31 points and six 3-pointers. Darren Collison had 29 points on 12-of-14 shooting and reserve Tyler Hansbrough had 20 points and nine rebounds.
Danny Granger added 19 points, Roy Hibbert tallied 17 and Brandon Rush had 16 for the Pacers, who shot 64.4 percent, including 16-of-30 from the arc.
Ty Lawson scored 19 points for the Nuggets (4-4). Arron Afflalo tallied 17 points and Gary Forbes scored 16.
Denver’s Carmelo Anthony scored a season-low 13.
Denver | Indiana | |
Ty Lawson 19 | Scoring | Mike Dunleavy 31 |
Arron Afflalo 4 | Assists | Darren Collison 6 |
Nene 6 | Rebounds | Josh McRoberts 10 |
Arron Afflalo 5 | Free Throws Made | Mike Dunleavy 7 |
Arron Afflalo 2 | Steals | Danny Granger 2 |
Arron Afflalo 2 | Blocks | Roy Hibbert 3 |