The Phoenix Suns look to square their second-round NBA playoff series when they visit the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
Game time is 10:00 p.m. ET at Ball Arena where the Nuggets are favored by -4.5 points at BetOnline. The total is 227.
Denver Nuggets (58-30, 1-0, #1 seed)
Denver opened the series on Saturday with a convincing 125-107 victory. Jamal Murray scored 20 of his game-high 34 points in the second half, including six three pointers and added nine assists:
Jamal Murray. Built for this.
34 PTS
5 REB
9 AST
6 3PMNuggets take Game 1 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Kxep6mcuU2
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2023
He has scored 34 or more points in half of Denver’s six playoff games this year.
After spending nearly two full seasons working his way back from a knee injury he suffered just prior to the 2021 NBA playoffs, Murray is finally starting to once again look like the superstar that made waves in the NBA’s bubble playoffs back in 2020.
Through five games this post-season, the 26-year-old guard is averaging 25.2 points, 6.4 assists and 5.6. Murray also seems to thrive under playoff pressure, as his career playoff scoring average of 24.7 points per game is leaps and bounds above his career regular-season average of 16.9.
Helping Jokic shoulder the load
Murray is taking a lot of the offensive burden off Nikola Jokic. The Joker had 24 points and 19 rebounds and was dominant on the inside:
Nikola Jokic refuses to be denied 😤 pic.twitter.com/B40F1Xm7vf
— Nuggets Nation (@NuggetsNationCP) April 30, 2023
And for good measure, former Arizona Wildcat Aaron Gordon added 23 points:
Aaron Gordon came up HUGE in the #Nuggets' win tonight.
This sequence was big, with just under 9:40 remaining and Nikola Jokic on the bench, he goes full-on bully ball mode on two straight drives to keep the scoring going for Denver. pic.twitter.com/UUNcL0thQz
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) April 30, 2023
Murray, Jokic and Gordon scored a combined 81 points while the Suns starting five had 83.
Phoenix Suns (49-39, 0-1, #4 seed)
The 1-2 punch of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker combined for 56 points in the Game 1 loss.
Durant scored 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds:
☀️ Kevin Durant scores a team-high 29 points in the Suns' Game 1 loss to the Nuggets #RallyTheValley
📊 29 PTS | 14 REB | 3 BLK pic.twitter.com/aMynrtSvqi
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) April 30, 2023
For his part, Booker scored 27 points and had eight assists. He’s been on his game this post-season, averaging 37.2 points per game, second only to Miami’s Jimmy Butler.
Durant trade hurt the Phoenix bench
After falling short in the NBA Finals two seasons ago, Phoenix went all in on Durant when they made its blockbuster deal with Brooklyn at the trade deadline.
To acquire one of the greatest scorers in league history, the Suns gave up a small fortune. And while they added Durant, they lost not only draft picks but bench pieces that could help them now. So that means that the starters will have to play more minutes than they normally would. That could be a big factor if the series goes seven games.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
