INDIANAPOLIS -- Nikola Jokic's 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds left staved off an Indiana rally and the Pacers lost 114-109 to the defending NBA champion Nuggets Tuesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Pacers have lost three straight and fell to 24-20. The Nuggets have won three straight and improved to 31-14.

Here are four observations.

Pacers fall apart in third but rally in fourth

The Pacers had a 13-point lead in the first half, but saw it trimmed to 62-54 at the break and then it truly went sideways in the third quarter.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was ejected with just over 8 minutes to go for arguing with officials, believing Siakam had been fouled when the officials thought otherwise.

"I got run out because I didn't like what I was seeing out there at all," Carlisle said afterward. "Not one bit. I'll leave it at that."

The Pacers were down 69-68 at that point. The Nuggets outscored them 24-13 the rest of the quarter to win the period 39-19 and take a 93-81 lead into the fourth quarter.

Denver shot 13 of 23 from the period and 5 of 9 from 3 after making just 3 of 16 3s in the first half. The Nuggets posted a gaudy 1.47 points per possession for the period. Meanwhile the Pacers went cold, making just 8 of 22 field goals and missing all seven of their 3-pointers, posting a miserable 0.70 points per possession.

In the fourth, however, the Pacers recovered to make it a dogfight the rest of the way, outscoring them 28-21 in the fourth. Led by a defensive lineup that included Andrew Nembhard at point guard, Ben Sheppard and Aaron Nesmith at shooting guard and small forward, Pascal Siakam at power forward and Myles Turner at center, they rallied back to tie the game and actually take the lead, holding the Nuggets to 1.01 points per possession on 8 of 16 shooting. The Pacers were particularly pleased with the play of the rookie Sheppard, who had two deflections and a steal on one play to get the crowd going and scored five points in the period. He played the entire quarter, so the Pacers were +7 when he was on the floor.

"We turned up the pressure offensively and defensively," point guard T.J. McConnell said. "Ben Sheppard, very proud of him, gave us a spark. That's how you gotta play. Just to see him do that and get the crowd into it, very happy for him."

However, the Nuggets had a little too much firepower down the stretch and Jokic's 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds put the game away, putting them up 114-109.

"I want to give the assistant coaches a lot of credit," Carlisle said. "The third quarter was not going well. I got run out of there. It got to 10 but they kept the group together. Getting Sheppard in the game was a great move because it brought the energy that we needed."

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray bring more excellence

Rick Carlisle said after the Pacers' 117-109 loss to Denver on Sunday that the defeat came down to "the greatness of Jokic and the greatness of Murray."

They didn't get any less great in a week.

The two-time MVP Nikola Jokic posted a triple-double with 31 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, and, of course, the 3-pointer that ended the game. Murray scored 31 points added seven assists and eight rebounds.

Jokic scored 12 of the Nuggets 21 points in the fourth quarter on 5 of 5 shooting including two 3-pointers. For the game, he was 13 of 19 from the floor and 3 of 4 from 3-point range. He turned the ball over just once.

"The two defining plays were the 3 at the end of the first and the 3 that put the game away," Carlisle said, describing two 3-pointers by Jokic. "He's much more aggressive to look for those shots. There's just zero hesitation on them. We were up on a couple of them and he went over. Those are great players making great plays."

Pascal Siakam strong in Gainbridge debut

Pascal Siakam got a warm welcome in his first game as a Pacer in Indianapolis and he was just as effective at home as he was on the road in his first two games.

Siakam in particular showed off a smooth mid-range game, getting most of his first-half points through pull-ups and turnaround jumpers. He was 5 of 9 in the first half for 12 points. He finished with 16 points on 7 of 16 shooting, 10 rebounds and four assists with one turnover.

"Siakam's a good player," Carlisle said. "He's going to be very consistent. He's going to bring something very valuable to almost every element of our game offensively and defensively. When Tyrese (Haliburton) is back, it will enhance his game even more. Right now, we're very lucky to have him with Tyrese out because he can do a lot of things that can help us."

Myles Turner strong in opposition of Jokic

Turner said after the Pacers' loss to Denver last week that he thought he'd taken his foot off the gas in his matchup against Jokic, as he scored just two points in the second half. Though the Pacers may have faded as a team on Tuesday and no one did particularly good work on Jokic defensively, Turner had an excellent offensive performance, scoring 22 points on 8 of 18 shooting to go with six rebounds.

Pacers stats vs. Nuggets

DENVER (114): Gordon 3-5 3-3 9, Porter Jr. 2-9 0-0 5, Jokic 13-19 2-2 31, Caldwell-Pope 5-12 2-2 14, Murray 11-24 6-6 31, Jordan 1-1 0-2 2, Braun 1-3 0-0 2, R.Jackson 6-11 0-0 13, Watson 2-4 2-2 7. Totals 44-88 15-17 114.

INDIANA (109): Nesmith 5-13 2-2 13, Siakam 7-16 2-2 16, Turner 8-18 6-7 22, Hield 1-3 1-1 3, Nembhard 7-9 0-0 15, I.Jackson 1-3 1-2 3, Toppin 2-4 0-0 4, Mathurin 3-8 4-5 11, McConnell 7-11 2-2 17, Sheppard 2-2 0-0 5. Totals 43-87 18-21 109.

DEN 28 26 39 21 — 114

IND 29 33 19 28 — 109

3-Point Goals—Denver 11-33 (Jokic 3-4, Murray 3-9, Caldwell-Pope 2-6, Watson 1-2, R.Jackson 1-4, Porter Jr. 1-5, Gordon 0-1, Braun 0-2), Indiana 5-21 (McConnell 1-1, Sheppard 1-1, Mathurin 1-2, Nembhard 1-3, Nesmith 1-7, Hield 0-2, Turner 0-5). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_Denver 42 (Jokic 13), Indiana 38 (Siakam 10). Assists_Denver 22 (Jokic 10), Indiana 24 (McConnell, Nembhard 7). Total Fouls_Denver 17, Indiana 16. A_16,004 (20,000)

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Nuggets: Nikola Jokic posts triple-double with clinching 3