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Ryan Dunn powers depleted Suns to 118-114 comeback preseason victory over Nuggets

Oct 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Ryan Dunn (0) controls the ball as Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) defends in the second quarter at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Rookie Ryan Dunn led a short-handed Phoenix Suns team to an impressive 118-114 road victory over the Denver Nuggets Sunday night, as Phoenix improved to 3-1 in the preseason.

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Phoenix decided to rest Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Tyus Jones with tonight being its fourth preseason game in eight days. Devin Booker (right ankle soreness), Jusuf Nurkić (left middle finger), Grayson Allen (Achilles soreness) and Josh Okogie (hamstring tightness) were already out due to various injuries.

With these players sidelined, Phoenix started Monté Morris, Dunn, Royce O’Neale, Bol Bol and Mason Plumlee.

This was the second-straight start for Dunn, the No. 28 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft out of Virginia, and he finished tied with a team-high 20 points, shooting 7-for-15 from the floor and 6-for-11 from 3, also recording four rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals in 30 minutes. Dunn, a defensive standout who fell in the draft because of his lack of ability to shoot at Virginia, excited everyone with how pure his shot looked tonight.

“Made my first shot, so that felt good to get it going,” said Dunn, who is now 12-for-27 from 3 in the four preseason games, on Arizona’s Family postgame. “Just kept doing my role, playing defense, trying to get stops and trying to get open shots. My mindset going into this year, if I start or come off the bench, whether I miss or make, (is) just keep competing and doing my role.”

Dunn ended his night by hitting a dagger corner 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to put the Suns up seven.

The Nuggets, who had not played in a week before tonight, rolled out their projected regular-season starting lineup of Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokić.

Even so, Phoenix was able to come back down from as many as 13 points, as the Suns executed new coach Mike Budenholzer’s strategy of attempting 3-pointers to perfection, converting on 23-of-52 (44.2%) shots from deep a team. Phoenix only had one game last season when it attempted 50 or more 3-pointers, a 124-108 win against the Los Angeles Clippers on April 10, and never made 23 3-pointers in a game.

Morris, filling in as the starting point guard for Jones, also had 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 4-of-7 3-point shooting to go along with seven assists and two steals. Morris and O’Neale, who finished with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting (3-for-6 from 3), four rebounds, four assists and two steals, helped spark a big third quarter that gave Phoenix the momentum to come back. Bol added 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting (4-for-6 from 3) and seven rebounds against his former team. The bench also chipped in 43 points, led by Collin Gillespie’s 12 points, six assists and four rebounds.

Overall, Phoenix shot 42-for-91 (46.2%) from the floor as a team and had 29 assists, showing a lot of connectivity even without its starters.

Three Nuggets–Jokic, Porter and Julian Strawther–ended the night with 21 points, as Denver made 44-for-94 (46.8%) shots as a team and went 12-for-37 (32.4%) from deep.

Nuggets take control in 1st half

Denver led 33-26 after the first quarter. The Suns came out firing from deep, converting their first three 3-pointers and going 6-for-14 from beyond the arc for the quarter. Dunn cashed in two from long range in the quarter, meaning he made more 3s (8) in his first 13 preseason quarters than he did in 34 games at Virginia last season (7). Morris and Dunn both had a team-high six points for Phoenix with two 3-pointers apiece in the first. Porter led all scorers with nine points for Denver, while Jokic had six points, five rebounds and three assists going into the second.

The Nuggets built up this lead to 60-51 at halftime. Dunn continued to show out in the first half, going into halftime with a team-high 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting (3-for-5 from 3), three assists, two rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes. Morris added eight points (3-6 FG), O’Neale had seven (3-5 FG) and Bol recorded five points (2-4 FG) and five rebounds. Gillespie came off the bench with seven points, while Frank Kaminsky and TyTy Washington Jr. scored five points apiece.

The Suns were 20-for-44 (45.5%) on field goals as a team in the first half and 10-for-23 (43.5%) from 3, while the Nuggets went 25-for-53 (47.2%) from the floor and 7-for-21 (33.3%) from 3. Jokić led all scorers with 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and five assists, while Gordon and Porter had 12 points each. The Nuggets recorded 20 assists in the half compared to 12 for Phoenix.

3-point barrage powers Suns comeback in second half

The Suns cut the Nuggets lead to only one point with an 11-3 run to open the third quarter. Bol cashed in two early 3-pointers in the quarter to get into double figures, and the Suns were able to tie the game at 71 with 6:26 remaining in the third after a 3 by O’Neale, which put the Suns at 14-for-28 from deep for the game. Phoenix built this run up to 18-5 after a layup by Morris put them ahead 81-76 with 4:31 to go in the quarter, as they started the second half 6-for-7 from deep as a team. The Nuggets responded with a 10-0 run and took a 90-88 lead heading into the fourth, as Phoenix won the third quarter 37-30.

Through three quarters, the Suns were 17-for-38 (44.7%) from deep as a team and 32-for-70 (45.7%) from the floor. Morris (18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 4-for-5 from 3 and five assists, two steals), O’Neale (17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, four rebounds, four assists and two steals), Gillespie (12 points on 4-of-6 shooting), Dunn (11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks) and Bol (11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and five rebounds) were all in double figures for Phoenix.

Denver was 34-for-71 (47.9%) from the floor and 9-for-27 (33.3%) from 3 going into the final quarter. Jokić played 30 minutes in the first three quarters, nearly recording a triple double with 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists. Porter also had 21 points to go along with three rebounds and two steals.

Braun was the only Nuggets starter to play in the fourth quarter, and the teams continued to trade baskets back and forth. Bol hit a big 3 to put the Suns up five, 107-102, with four minutes left in the game. A Damion Lee 3-pointer with 3:25 extended the lead to 110-102 and capped off a 10-0 Suns run. Dunn sealed the game with a 3-pointer, his fifth of the game, to put Phoenix ahead 115-106 with 1:43 remaining. He ended his impressive night by putting the game away for good with a corner 3 that gave Phoenix a 118-111 lead with 18 seconds to go.

Next Up

The Suns will close out their preseason on Thursday at home against the Los Angeles Lakers. They begin the regular season on Oct. 23 on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Suns will be without entire starting 5 for preseason bout against Nuggets

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Brendan Mau is a senior writer covering the Phoenix Suns and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @Brendan_Mau

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