The Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets had their own individual troubles going into their matchup Monday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Phoenix had been plagued with injuries to nearly everyone on the roster and Denver had just been flat out performing short of relative expectations despite Nikola Jokic having arguably one of the best seasons of his career. All that to say, both teams were projected to be real juggernauts out of the Western Conference and have been coming up short of expectations for the various reasons detailed.
However, as a team, you either let that affect you or not. And the Nuggets didn’t get discouraged by a struggle-filled win over the New Orleans Pelicans in the first game of a back-to-back on Sunday. Nikola Jokic (32 points and 7 assists) and Michael Porter Jr. (24 points on 10-for-12 shooting) scorched the Suns who came into the game with abysmal effort from the gates.
Here are the takeaways from the Suns losing 117-90 to the Nuggets in the first of a home-and-home mini-series:
First Quarter
– Along with Phoenix’s notably injured Devin Booker (groin) and Grayson Allen (concussion), Denver’s Jamal Murray was pronounced OUT ahead of the game with a right ankle sprain. Russell Westbrook got the start over Murray.
– It was important for the Suns to start this game off hot, and they did in the first few possessions. Bradley Beal started off the game making his first jump shot, then Jusuf Nurkic forced a Nikola Jokic turnover which led to a Kevin Durant bucket. After a Denver make, Tyus Jones came down and hit his first shot attempt, a 12-foot floater.
– It took the Nuggets just a bit to wake up in their second game of a back-to-back, and the Suns got off to a 8-2 start. After a Jokic three and a few MPJ buckets, Denver cut the lead to within three at 13-10 with 6:38 left in the first.
– Michael Porter Jr. played a small amount of minutes (23) in their game against the Pelicans the previous night. That allowed his legs to be fresh and come out the gates scorching, finishing the first quarter with 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field.
– Even though Phoenix only committed four turnovers in the first quarter, missing shots and allowing four offensive rebounds and six second chance points gave the Nuggets a 27-26 edge over the Suns in the first quarter.
Second Quarter
– If any team is going to beat the Nuggets, it’s going to have to be when Jokic is sitting. The Suns weren’t able to win the non-Jokic minutes and were a -2 as the reigning MVP sat the start of the second quarter. As soon as he came in, he drilled a 3-pointer to give Denver a 41-33 lead over the Suns with second quarter.
– Nurkic, who is a notoriously good matchup against Jokic, committed his third foul with 5:01 left in the second quarter. After hitting the free throws, Jokic was up to 14 points and a plus-8 in the game thus far.
– Phoenix, after going own 10, went on an 11-0 run over the course of a minute and a half to go up by one before Jokic answered with a timely 3-pointer to regain a 46-44 lead.
– Nurkic committed his fourth foul on a hard offensive screen with just under two minutes left in the second quarter.
– Durant (16) was the only Sun to finish the first half with double-digit points. The Nuggets had two — Jokic with 19 and Porter Jr. with 17 — and were able to secure a 55-51 halftime lead over Phoenix
Third Quarter
– Phoenix opened the second half lackadaisical and allowed a 11-2 Nuggets run that gave Denver a 68-53 lead and the Suns their biggest deficit of the night.
– Abysmal effort, questionable foul calls and elementary mistakes on Phoenix’s part overshadowed a great Bradley Beal third quarter where he scored 13 points and was 5-for-6 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from deep.
– You wouldn’t have been able to tell that the Nuggets were playing on the second night of a back-to-back as they opened the floodgates i after the halftime break. They scored 45 points in the third quarter on 18-for-26 (69%) shooting that proved to be debilitating for a Phoenix team struggling to find any answers. The Suns went down 100-79 ahead of the final quarter and their quest for answers was bleak.
Fourth Quarter
– Both teams nearly emptied their benches to start the final quarter with the exception of Bradley Beal getting some extended run, but the Denver bench kept the energy up and extended the score to 109-85 midway through the fourth. A rough stretch in the season translated to rough first matchup with the Nuggets.
– Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter Jr. didn’t have to set foot on the court in the fourth quarter and finished with 32 points and seven assists and 24 points and six rebounds respectively. The Denver duo finished a combined 22-for-29 (76%) from the field.
– Bradley Beal finished with 23 points shooting 5-for-7 from beyond the arc and Kevin Durant finished with 23 points as well, adding nine rebounds shooting 8-for-15 from the field as both teams emptied their benches with just over five minutes left in the game.
– The Phoenix Suns now fall to .500 with a 14-14 record on the season after losing 117-90 to the Nuggets in Denver . They have lost six of their last eight games.
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Reporter Connor Moreno covers the Phoenix Suns for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @cmorenosports, and on Bluesky, @cloading.bsky.social
