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Nuggets-Pacers Preview
Denver Nuggets at Indiana Pacers
- The Nuggets lost, 108-104, in Atlanta on Wednesday and have now dropped four of their last five games overall. Denver has scored at least 100 points in eight straight contests -- the second longest active streak in the league (OKC -- 10 straight).
- Indiana defeated Portland, 99-92, on Wednesday -- its second straight and fourth victory in the last five games overall. Entering this weekend, the Pacers have played just seven home games in 2012-13 -- tied for second fewest in the NBA.
- Denver beat Indiana, 113-109, in these clubs' lone meeting last season. Including two straight wins, the Nuggets are 12-3 vs. the Pacers since the beginning of 2004-05.
- Ty Lawson was 12-of-16 for a season-high 32 points in Denver's setback to the Hawks on Wednesday. Lawson's 12 field goals made against Atlanta were a career-high and the most of any Nugget this season.
- David West netted 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds on Wednesday -- his third double-double in the last five games overall. West has hit 56.6 percent of his field-goal attempts in the last 10 games -- third highest of any Eastern Conference player since November 16.
- The Pacers are averaging just 90.7 points per game in 2012-13 -- second lowest in the league.
By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
(AP) -- Paul George is starting to get hot, but the Indiana Pacers have no idea whether he will keep it up.
George has posted his highest point total over consecutive games for the Pacers, who will try to hand the Denver Nuggets a fifth straight road loss Friday night.
It's been hard to figure out what to expect from George, who is now on the upswing with 56 points on 21-of-40 shooting over his last two games. It comes after he scored four points on 2-of-18 shooting in the two contests prior to that.
"You just watch him and some of the shots that he's making and you think, 'Boy, if he could ever stabilize and do this on a consistent basis,'" coach Frank Vogel said.
With star swingman Danny Granger yet to see action, the Pacers (10-9) would welcome any consistency from George. For his part, the third-year forward believes he has turned the corner - along with the team.
"A lot of things are starting to come together," George said. "We're starting to knock down shots, we're starting to see the open man. We're starting to play the style that we played last year."
Indiana has won six of eight, and Vogel pointed to a 3-1 road trip that preceded Wednesday's 99-92 home win over Portland as to where his team began to gel.
"Nothing builds confidence like quality road wins," Vogel said. "We got two really good ones on this last trip, another one in Sacramento, which is a quality win because they play great basketball in their building, and the confidence is growing by the day."
The road hasn't been as kind to Denver (9-10), which opened a five-game trip with Wednesday's 108-104 defeat to Atlanta. Ty Lawson had a season-high 32 points, but his good work was undone by his two turnovers in the final minute as the Nuggets were outscored 9-3 down the stretch.
"I feel bad for him," coach George Karl said. "He had a great game going. He was the best player on the court for most of the night until the turnovers at the end. He just had a big-time game."
Andre Iguodala will be trying to bounce back from a pair of sub-par efforts in which he has totaled nine points on 3-of-15 shooting.
Which team controls the tempo better should be critical to Friday's outcome.
Denver is yielding 101.1 points per game for one of the league's worst marks and averaging 100.8 points on offense for one of the best. Indiana, meanwhile, is yielding 91.1 points per game for the NBA's second-lowest mark but also owns the second-worst offense at 90.7 points per game.
The Pacers haven't cracked 100 points in their last six games.
"We are just trying to be steady, trying to build some consistency in our effort and how we approach every single game," forward David West said.
The Pacers are 2-3 on Fridays, and the only other day they are below .500 is Sunday (0-1).
The Nuggets have taken 12 of the last 15 meetings, winning 113-109 in Indianapolis on Feb. 11 in the lone one last season.
Updated December 6, 2012
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