Nuggets vs Pacers

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has been ruled out just ahead of Friday night's game against Indiana Pacers.

In short, even if a 1-2 week long absence was in Nikola Jokic’s immediate future, Denver is in position to stay in the top-four of the Western Conference standings at worst. Sitting atop of the Western Conference standings primarily due to the play of the graceful giant, the Nuggets are only 0.5 games in front of the Memphis Grizzlies. To state the obvious, his absence will be felt.

Even without Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets still smashed the Pacers to give Indiana its sixth straight loss since Tyrese Haliburton's injury.

Off the bench, he's averaging 17.6 points per game and shooting 42.9% from the floor and 33.5% from 3. In six starts, he's averaging 14.5 points per game, shooting 38.0% from the floor and 30% from 3-point range. He finished with 19 points on 5 of 10 shooting and was 9 of 11 at the free throw line thanks to his physical drives. In the second half especially, he was one of the few Pacers providing offensive punch. McConnell was 3 of 3 from the field for eight points and also had six assists, but Nembhard had five turnovers and McConnell had four. McConnell were responsible for just two of the 24 turnovers on Wednesday, but they combined for nine on Friday. "A lot of our forced turnovers in the Oklahoma City game came because of poor spacing. It was an especially acute problem in the third quarter when they gave it away seven times and the Nuggets turned several of those into runout dunks. He wasn't done, obviously, and finished with 17 points on 4 of 8 shooting, 2 of 4 from 3-point range, 10 rebounds and 14 assists. They posted 1.44 points per possession in the first period and scored 22 points in the paint, taking a 37-28 lead into the second period. Even with two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic out, the Nuggets had no problem betting buckets, making 15 of 21 first-quarter field goals (71.4%) and 20 of their first 29 field goals going into the second quarter. The Nuggets won their ninth straight game and 16th of their last 18, leading the Western Conference at 33-13.

Just when we think we have seen it all from Denver Nuggets center and two-time reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic , he puts together a dominant st...

[SportsLine Daily](https://www.sportsline.com/newsletters/sportsline-daily/) [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/sportsline?sub_confirmation=1) [NBA](https://www.sportsline.com/nba/picks/#link=%7B%22linkText%22:%22right%20here%22,%22target%22:%22_blank%22,%22affiliate%22:%22%22,%22href%22:%22https://www.sportsline.com/nba/picks/%22,%22role%22:%22standard%22,%22absolute%22:%22%22%7D#link=%7B%22linkText%22:%22NBA%22,%22target%22:%22_blank%22,%22affiliate%22:%22%22,%22href%22:%22https://www.sportsline.com/nba/picks/#link=%7B%22linkText%22:%22right%20here%22,%22target%22:%22_blank%22,%22affiliate%22:%22%22,%22href%22:%22https://www.sportsline.com/nba/picks/%22,%22role%22:%22standard%22,%22absolute%22:%22%22%7D%22,%22role%22:%22standard%22,%22absolute%22:%22%22%7D) [NFL](https://www.sportsline.com/nfl/picks/#link=%7B%22linkText%22:%22right%20here%22,%22target%22:%22_blank%22,%22affiliate%22:%22%22,%22href%22:%22https://www.sportsline.com/nfl/picks/%22,%22role%22:%22standard%22,%22absolute%22:%22%22%7D#link=%7B%22linkText%22:%22NFL%22,%22target%22:%22_blank%22,%22affiliate%22:%22%22,%22href%22:%22https://www.sportsline.com/nfl/picks/#link=%7B%22linkText%22:%22right%20here%22,%22target%22:%22_blank%22,%22affiliate%22:%22%22,%22href%22:%22https://www.sportsline.com/nfl/picks/%22,%22role%22:%22standard%22,%22absolute%22:%22%22%7D%22,%22role%22:%22standard%22,%22absolute%22:%22%22%7D) 11 because of injuries and won't return on Friday. He has been downgraded to questionable against Indiana, [which went from +11.5 to +8.5 with that possibility](https://www.sportsline.com/nba/game-forecast/NBA_20230120_IND@DEN/). Indiana enters on a season-high five-game skid and badly misses its best player, point guard Tyrese Haliburton. Needless to say, all Nuggets individual props are off the board for now tonight. The only game in his past six in which Jokic didn't have one? [Denver Nuggets center and two-time reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic](https://www.sportsline.com/nba/daily-fantasy/optimizer/), he puts together a dominant streak of five triple-doubles in six games, including three straight, to surge into the MVP betting lead at Caesars Sportsbook. In Wednesday's 122-118 comeback win over Minnesota, the Nuggets' eighth straight victory, he led Denver in points, rebounds and assists for the 98th career time in a game. This writer would thus expect Jokic to sit.

Find out how to watch, live stream or TV channel and game time information for the January 20, 2023 matchup between the Denver Nuggets and the Indiana ...

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Denver big man Nikola Jokic missed the Nuggets' game against Indiana on Friday night because of tightness in his left hamstring.

Forward [Jeff Green](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3209/jeff-green) was available after missing 14 games because of a fractured hand and played 18 minutes. "It was really fun to see our guys continue to play the way we play regardless of who's on the court,'' Nuggets assistant coach David Adelman said. "It was fun because a lot of guys contributed. [Vlatko Cancar](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4230557/vlatko-cancar) also sat out Friday's game because of an illness not related to COVID-19. [Aaron Gordon](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3064290/aaron-gordon) scored 28 points and [Michael Porter Jr](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4278104/michael-porter-jr). [Nikola Jokic](https://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3112335/nikola-jokic) missed the Nuggets' [134-111 win](/nba/game/_/gameId/401468843) over the [Indiana Pacers](/nba/team/_/name/ind/indiana-pacers) on Friday night because of tightness in his left hamstring.

With the reigning 2-time Kia MVP sidelined, Jamal Murray posts his 1st career triple-double as Denver extends its winning streak to 9 games.

He also missed three games in November due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Jokic, who leads the league with 14 triple-doubles, had a courtside seat for the Jamal Murray Show and congratulated his point-guard teammate after the feat. Murray finished with 17 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds to turn in his best Jokic imitation.