Pacers go 20 for 21 in 3rd, beat Nuggets 144-113

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Josh McRoberts had no idea history was at stake when he launched a deep 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter.

If he did, he said he would have taken a different approach.

The Indiana Pacers made their first 20 shots of the third quarter, missing out on a perfect period when McRoberts was off on a 26-footer with 1.9 seconds left, and rolled to a 144-113 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night.

On a night when little went wrong, McRoberts got some good-natured ribbing from his teammates after the game.

" I didn't know,'' McRoberts said. " I would have tried to pump-fake it a few more times, and maybe pass it to Mike (Dunleavy). It's a good record to screw up, I guess."

Dunleavy would have been an ideal option. He scored 24 of his 31 points in the Pacers' 54-point third period. He also was unaware of the near-perfect quarter.

" I didn't realize it until after the fact, or else I probably would have gone over there and stole the ball from him (McRoberts),'' Dunleavy joked. " But he had a nice game, so that made up for it."

The Pacers still set plenty of records. It was the highest-scoring quarter in team history, the fourth-highest total for a quarter in NBA history and tied for the second-most ever scored in a third quarter.

" That's a quarter of basketball that will be remembered for a long time," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said.

Dunleavy made all five of his 3-point attempts in the third quarter. Late in the quarter, the crowd began buzzing whenever he touched the ball.

" I don't know how many 3s he hit in a row, but it was like the old NBA Jam," Denver's Ty Lawson said.

Indiana, which shot 64 percent overall, led 113-76 at the end of the period.

" The dike broke, and the dam broke, and the flood hit us,'' Denver coach George Karl said. " We know that happens three or four times a year. Hopefully we can get better and respond against the Lakers on Thursday."

O'Brien had criticized Dunleavy for missing open shots, but the guard responded by making 9-of-13 field goals and 6-of-10 3-pointers.

" You just string a few in a row together, you get going, and it just goes from there,'' Dunleavy said. " My teammates did a good job of finding me, and I knocked down shots."

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.

" That's as much fun as you can have on a basketball court,'' O'Brien said. " I think that third quarter was terrific after a very good first half. I'm just very proud of the effort."

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. The Pacers had 17 assists in the record-setting third quarter.

" I think that was a key to us getting so hot,'' O'Brien said. " We just never took a bad shot in the third quarter. We always saw the open guy."

Granger had shot 8 for 31 from the field the past two games, but bounced back to go 8 for 10. The Pacers made 31-of-39 shots in the second half, and their largest lead was 39 points.

" We just have to sweep this one under the rug and know that we will see them again," Lawson said.

The Pacers turned Denver's coach into a fan.

" They made every shot,'' Karl said. " They were spectacular. They were fun to watch."

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.