DENVER – Hot shooting helped the Nuggets build a big lead early, and a 22-2 run in the fourth quarter allowed Denver to hold on for a 121-106 win over the Indiana Pacers on Monday at Ball Arena.

The Nuggets hit 10 of their first 12 3-pointers to take a 20-point midway through the second quarter. Will Barton III continued his hot shooting after the All-Star break, scoring 14 of his 20 points and making four 3-pointers before he missed his first shot. After the game was delayed an hour because of the Pacers’ struggles getting into Denver after the weekend snowstorm, Barton wanted to test their energy out of the gate.

“I knew they got in late, so I just wanted to put my foot on the gas early to figure out if they was or wasn’t (tired),” Barton said. “But I knew I was going to figure it out when I came out there.”

Indiana enjoyed a stretch of hot shooting later in the game, eventually leading 91-87 to start the fourth behind a series of 3-pointers from Malcolm Brogdon, Myles Turner and Caris LeVert. Brogdon led Indiana with 24 points.

“Simply stated, our defense in the third quarter was a joke,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said lamenting the facts, 35 points allowed on 64% shooting for Indiana in the third. “If we had any chance of coming back and winning, we were going to have to play a lot better defense.”

Malone started the final period with Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray on the bench, and Facu Campazzo, PJ Dozier, Barton, Michael Porter Jr. and Paul Millsap rolled up a 17-2 run to give Denver an 11-point lead before Jokic and Murray returned to the court.

“That group started it off, and we closed it out with our starters,” Malone said. “We needed that fourth-quarter performance to get this win.”

Jokic scored the next five points to extend the run and finished with a team-high 32 points to go with 14 rebounds, five assists and four steals with just one turnover. It was his 227th double-double, tying Dikembe Mutombo for the franchise record.

Murray bounced back after scoring a combined 13 points on 5-of-27 shooting in Denver’s first two games since the break, finishing with 16 points on 13 shots. He made multiple 3-pointers for the first time in four games, making 3 of 5 from deep. He said he changed his pre-game routine, lifting early and making sure he got to his shooting window on time after he admitted to taking a break from basketball during the All-Star weekend.

“I definitely feel like I needed the break,” Murray said. “I know it showed. I’m not going to lie to you guys, it showed.”

Malone said he challenged his point guard to not let his shooting performance impact other parts of his game.

“Get on the glass. He should be getting us six rebounds a night. Be a playmaker. Get your teammates involved. Don’t allow missing shots to make you just a specialist, because he’s not that. We know he’s a complete player,” Malone said, noting Murray’s eight assists and six rebounds Monday.

“Doing a really efficient job was great to see from him tonight.”

Porter (20) and JaMychal Green (16) also reached double figures for the Nuggets. Green made 4 of 6 shots from 3-point range off the bench in his second game back after missing almost a month with a shoulder injury.

“I love playing with him. He does all the dirty work for us,” Barton said. “Anytime you can find a shot for him, I feel like you’ve got to make it your job to do that.”

The Nuggets outrebounded the Pacers by 15 and finished 15 of 28 from 3-point range. The Pacers posted a 17-for-42 mark from deep with seven of the makes and 11 attempts coming in the third quarter. Indiana missed all five of its 3-point attempts in the fourth and posted just 15 points in the final quarter.

“We realized we didn’t defend well in the third and realized if we wanted to win the game, we had to defend in the fourth immediately in the start of the fourth,” Barton said. “And that’s what we did.”