Pacers Nearly Perfect in Nuggets Blowout

It's not often the words "perfection" and "Pacers" are used in the same sentence, but for 11 minutes and 58 seconds in the third quarter of Tuesday's win over the Denver Nuggets, that's exactly what the Pacers were.

Having already built a 59-49 lead at the half, the Pacers hit their first 20 field-goal attempts in the third quarter, running away with a 54-27 advantage for the frame. Mike Dunleavy led the attack by hitting seven shots, including five 3-pointers, with Danny Granger chipping in five buckets of his own. Roy Hibbert and Darren Collison added three apiece, and Brandon Rush and Tyler Hansbrough each pitched in one.

The remarkable streak came to a screeching halt in the final seconds, though, when Josh McRoberts -- with his career .279 success rate from beyond the arc -- heaved up a 3-pointer that clanged off the rim in the final seconds.

Enjoy every bucket of the remarkable frame -- including McRoberts' suddenly infamous brick -- in the video below, courtesy of NBA Facts and Rumors:

Pacers 144, Nuggets 113: Recap | Box Score

"I didn't know,'' McRoberts told reporters after the game about the team's perfect quarter at the time of his attempt. "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.''

Fortunately for the Pacers, McRoberts' gaffe did little to throw the team off its rhythm -- even though Indiana shot "just" 61 percent in the final frame, they held on for the 144-113 win.

Given that the Pacers cruised to a 31-point blowout, Dunleavy took McRoberts' miss in stride -- but not before having some fun at the expense of his teammate.

"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.''

Dunleavy led all scorers with 31 points in just 24 minutes. McRoberts failed to score but did finish with six rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot in 17 minutes of action. The win improved Indiana's record to 3-3, half a game out of first place in the Central Division.