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Suns Season in Jeopardy in First Half of Game 6

© Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Phoenix Suns have a season hanging in the balance on Thursday. After going down 3-2 against the Denver Nuggets, regaining control of the season for Phoenix appeared grim.

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The first quarter blowout by the Nuggets didn’t show any bright signs for the Suns either. Kevin Durant was off to another slow start, and Nikola Jokić was dominating the Suns’ post defense.

Despite the Suns’ advances, a 19-0 run from the Nuggets going into the first minute of the second quarter was signaling an early downfall.

The Nuggets continued the onslaught on the Suns, taking a lead into halftime.

Ayton’s Absence Shows Concern

For all the criticism Deandre Ayton has seen this season, his services in Game 6 were severely needed in the first half. Without Ayton, head coach Monty Williams was tasked with rotating between Bismack Biyombo and Jock Landale.

Landale found himself in foul trouble early, leaving Biyombo to handle the heavy load of guarding Jokić. Jokić made short work of Biyombo and the Suns in the first quarter. He scored 14 points, shooting 7-of-9 from the field with no three-point attempts.

Stopping Jokić completely could never be attainable by the two big reserves in Landale and Biyombo. Yet with 14 points in only the first quarter, it was showing to be a long night.

It essentially continued to be a playground for Jokić, ending the first half with 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

Cam Payne Wills the Home Team

With no Chris Paul and also no Ayton, there was an expected amount of holes in the Suns fluidity. Even though some promoted bench pieces couldn’t live up to the hype, Cameron Payne made sure to.

Payne proved to be the only sufficient spark for the Suns in the first half. He shot a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range, finishing with 19 points and leading all Suns.

On the opposite end, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was giving an equal performance from his position. Caldwell-Pope finished the half with 21 points, providing an adequate amount of Denver’s scoring.

Durant’s Drought Continues

There’s no way around admitting Durant’s less than favorable performances lately. With the season on the line, those woeful shooting droughts continued in Game 6.

Durant finished the half going 2-of-11 from the field for 8 points. Devin Booker has seen better days (4-12) shooting-wise, but a subpar game from him was due. Booker has been on an outstanding run for most of the playoffs.

As for Durant, the very reason of him being brought to Phoenix was called upon in the first half. Such was the case in Game 5, in which Durant finished 10-of-24.

Facing such a huge deficit has no clear answers for the Suns going into the second half. As for Durant, he will have to give one of his greatest performances in a half to will Phoenix back.

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