Indianapolis » Even in a state known for speed, the Jazz had to be stunned by how quickly Friday night's game flipped on them, a 12-point lead in the third quarter turning into a 122-106 loss to the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse.

As close as they were to claiming second place in the Western Conference, the Jazz instead were left searching for answers after Danny Granger scored a career-high 44 points and the Pacers outscored Utah 54-26 over the final 17 minutes.

"Our defense was pretty much nonexistent," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said, adding, "They did a great job of getting their people open with what they wanted to do and we couldn't come close to guarding Granger. They got on a roll and we couldn't shut them down."

Granger opened the fourth quarter with a four-point play and went on to score 18 points in the final period. Josh McRoberts had 11 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals off the bench for Indiana, which is 27-46 but won its fifth consecutive game.

It was a demoralizing defeat for the Jazz, who went into Friday tied with Dallas and Denver for second place in the West with identical 47-25 records. With the Nuggets trailing much of the night in Toronto, the Jazz were on the verge of moving up.

But Denver came back from 12 points down in the fourth quarter to win 97-96 on Carmelo Anthony's fadeaway jumper at the buzzer. The Nuggets now sit second in the West, a game ahead of the Jazz, followed by Dallas, a half-game in front of Utah.

"It's definitely a tough loss for us," said Deron Williams, who had 21 points and 12 assists. "We wish we would have been able to get this one tonight."

The Pacers hit 17 of 36 3-pointers, tying a franchise record by a Jazz opponent, and scored 68 points in the second half. They outscored the Jazz 28-3 to close the third quarter and open the fourth quarter, switching gears like an Indy car driver.

Indiana trailed 80-68 with 5:02 left in the third quarter after Williams took it to backup guard A.J. Price on three consecutive possessions. But the Pacers scored 10 unanswered points just as the Jazz appeared on the way to a fourth consecutive blowout.

Price hit a 3-pointer to bring Indiana within four points and McRoberts came through with hustle plays at both ends. He stole the ball from Carlos Boozer in the post, blocked Williams on a drive and scored off an offensive rebound following a Granger miss.

Williams hit a 3-pointer coming out of a timeout, but the Pacers scored nine more points to close the quarter. Roy Hibbert (14 points, five blocks) scored as part of a three-point play on Paul Millsap and drove past Mehmet Okur for a reverse layup.

Following back-to-back offensive fouls on the Jazz, Ronnie Price missed a jumper trying to play two-for-one possessions and McRoberts slammed an alley-oop from Earl Watson. The Pacers closed the quarter with a 19-3 run to take an 87-83 lead into the fourth.

"It's funny how they got that lead," Sloan said. "They went inside and we kept going outside. We couldn't wait to shoot 3-point shots and draw-and-kick type plays, and when we did execute, it was about half-speed."

Granger connected on a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter, which turned into a four-point play as C.J. Miles fouled him. Williams tried to drive and was blocked by Hibbert, who blocked two shots and changed two more early in the final period.

That block turned into a 3-pointer for Granger, who pounded his chest after giving Indiana a 94-83 lead.

Watson hit a jumper and Granger buried another 3-pointer after McRoberts missed a dunk only to have Hibbert grab the offensive rebound and find him.

"It seemed like every time they shot the ball, we were taking the ball out of the net," Boozer said. "That's how it seemed to me. I always take the ball out of bounds; it seemed like I kept pulling the ball out of the net."

The Jazz will close their three-game Eastern Conference trip tonight at Washington -- which dropped its franchise-record 14th consecutive game Friday -- and tried to play down any concern following last year's 2-7 finish to the regular season.

Included were alarming losses to lottery-bound teams Minnesota and Golden State that bore strong semblance to Friday's loss to Indiana. Sloan was especially disappointed with the Jazz's lack of energy in the second half against the Pacers.

"If that's who we are, then it's tough to do anything in the playoffs," Sloan said. "If that's who we are, we're just going to play once in a while. This is a time of year you put it out there every second."

rsiler@sltrib.com