The “Blue Arrow” made its return Wednesday in Indianapolis. Here are three takeaways from Denver’s 135-120 win over the Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse: So much for that injury derailing Jamal Murray’s quest to be an All-Star for the first time. After starting the day listed as questi onable with a right ankle sprain, Murray caught fire in the first half and scored 23 points before halftime, making nine of his first 11 shots and five of his first six 3s. It turns out he was just getting started. Then, he scored Denver’s first eight points of the third quarter and finished the night with 52 points, three shy of his regular-season career high. The fifth 50-point performance of his career came with incredible efficiency. Murray hit a career-high 10 3-pointers on 11 attempts and finished 19 of 25 from the field. He went 4 for 5 at the line and recorded six rebounds and four assists. Murray was feeling good enough to break out his signature celebration where he fires an arrow after reaching 50 points. Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) hits a 3-point basket over Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (2) for his 50th point during the second half of an NBA game in Indianapolis, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy) 2. The Nuggets would be in a lot better position without the four consecutive home losses, but an eight-game win streak on the road, a franchise record, is a good way to minimize the damage. Heading into Monday’s game, the second and seventh seeds were separated by three games with Denver in the middle of the pack. Games at Atlanta, Charlotte and Sacramento to conclude the road trip provide the Nuggets a quality opportunity to extend the road win streak to 11 games before they get a chance to end the home skid against the Rockets on Dec. 15. The Nuggets start Thursday 51/2 games behind the conference-leading Thunder but are only a half game back of the second-place Lakers. 3.  Peyton Watson’s defensive versatility was on display against the Pacers. The 23-year-old had impressive possessions against both Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard and forward Pascal Siakam. He blocked four shots, recorded a steal and grabbed seven defensive rebounds to go with 11 points. Siakam led the Pacers with 23 points, one below his season average. Watson’s defensive contributions are going to be a big part of Denver’s success until Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon return, and they become even more important if Spencer Jones misses some time after leaving Wednesday’s game with right knee soreness. NUGGETS 135, PACERS 120 What happened: Denver started the second quarter up five and stretched the lead to 72-48 at halftime. Indiana didn’t get within single digits the rest of the way, and Denver improved to 15-6 on the season. What went right: Behind Murray’s performance, Denver went 17 for 28 from 3-point range (60.7%). Remove Murray’s contributions and the rest of the team still went 7 of 17 (41.1%). What went wrong: Nikola Jokic missed another triple-double by a couple of rebounds, though he did finish with 24 points and 13 assists in 35 minutes of playing time. Highlight of the night: Curtis Jones put his name in the NBA history books in the final minutes. The rookie rebounded his own miss and hit a turn-around jumper for his first NBA points in the final minute. Up next: The Nuggets head to Atlanta for Friday’s game against the Hawks. ...read more read less