Pacers Pound Nuggets 90-63

March 1, 1998 / 12:00 AM EST / CBS/AP

It wasn't quite as big a blowout, but against the Denver Nuggets, it didn't matter.

The Indiana Pacers, coming off the second-most lopsided victory in NBA history, held the Nuggets to nine points in the third quarter and beat them 90-63 on Sunday.

It was the 11th straight loss for Denver, which matched a franchise record for the fewest points scored in a game.

Indiana used a 26-9 third-quarter run to take charge."It was something we had to do after the first half, when we let them hang around and hang around," Rik Smits said of the spurt.

Smits had 10 points in that period, outscoring the Nuggets by himself, and finished with 23.

"That was the best third quarter we've played all year," he said. "If we are doing that every night, we're a very good team. We could beat anybody."

The Pacers beat Portland 124-59 on Friday to become the first team in NBA history to score more than twice as many points as its opponent. And the back-to-back winning margins of 65 and 27 points were Indiana's biggest of the season.

"The first unit played great defense," coach Larry Bird said. "We held them to 63 points, and our starters were excellent. They did what they had to do."

"After we made our substitutions, we started throwing the ball away. That was a little discouraging, but at least we got the win. In the third quarter, we played great defense."

The final score, which came on a 3-point basket by Fred Hoiberg with 53 seconds to go, was the largest margin of the game.

"We just came out flat, and they're a very good team, a veteran team," said Denver's Danny Fortson, who led the Nuggets with 15 points.

"They were just waiting for us, like a hyena, waiting on some prey out there on the field, just waiting for us to bring the ball up the court," Fortson said.

Indiana had led by eight points before the starters went to the bench in the second period. But three of the Pacers' 10 first-half turnovers came on consecutive possessions midway through that quarter, and Denver took a 35-32 lead.

It didn't last long.

The Pacers starters returned to the lineup after that, and it was no contest the rest of the way.

"We can play well for stretches," Denver coach Bill Hanzlik said. "We played them even, but at the first sign of a run, boom, the bottom falls out. "

"We played sharp until then, and that's when it all stopped and we couldn't get it going."

A layup by Jackson tied the game at 36, then Chris Mullin's third 3-pointer put Indiana ahead for good. Jackson assisted on consecutive baskets by Smits and Dale Davis. Then after a basket by Denver's Anthony Goldwire, two free throws by Jackson gave Indiana a 46-38 lead at halftime.

Denver, one of the poorest shooting teams in the league, missed ts first six shots of the third quarter and finished at 36 percent for the game.

"It seems once our team makes a few mistakes, everything goes downhill," Nuggets center Dean Garrett said.

Jackson, Smits and Davis scored consecutive baskets to give the Pacers a 52-38 lead. Later, three straight baskets by Smits - the last two on assists by Jackson - and a 3-pointer by Reggie Miller pushed Indiana's lead to 63-42.

The Pacers led 72-47 after three quarters and Denver came no closer than 23 points after that.

Miller finished with 11 points, while Davis added 10 points, Mullin had nine points and 10 rebounds and Jackson eight points. Tony Battie had 12 points and Goldwire 11 for Denver.

Notes: The nine points by Denver in the third quarter marked a season-low by a Pacers opponent. ... The Pacers are 23 games above .500 for the first time in their 22-year NBA history. ... The Nuggets are 1-22 against Eastern Conference teams and 0-32 against teams above .500. ... Pacers rookie Austin Croshere, a first-round draft pick who had a career-high eight points Friday against Portland, entered the game with just over four minutes to go and missed all three of his shots.