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Pacers kick off road trip against Nuggets

Jan 5, 2009 - 2:46 PM Indiana (12-21) at Denver (23-12) 9:00 p.m. EST

DENVER (Ticker) -- The Indiana Pacers have gotten the new year off to a good start, winning two in a row against a pair of fellow bottom-feeders.

But the path gets a little tougher over the next week, as they take to the road for a five-game, Western Conference road trip. They get started on Monday night as they visit the Northwest-leading Denver Nuggets.

Though they are still struggling to find any consistency, the Pacers have gotten their offense going lately, going over the 100-point barrier in each of their last six contests. Unfortunately for them, opponents have had the same luck. Most recently, Indiana got into a shootout with the Sacramento Kings, surviving Kevin Martin's 45-point barrage en route to a 122-117 triumph.

With meetings against the likes of Phoenix, Utah and the Lakers looming later in the week, the Pacers get things started against a Denver squad that has won five of six. The Nuggets were taken to the brink in a close win over the lowly Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night, but came back one night later with a strong showing against the New Orleans Hornets.

Denver blew a big lead, but managed to come out on top thanks to Carmelo Anthony's 22-point effort and J.R. Smith's 17 off the bench.

That was the first night of an eight-game homestand for Denver, which is 12-4 at the Pepsi Center this season.