Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns look to square their NBA playoff series when they host the Denver Nuggets in Game 4 of their second round set.
Tip-off is slated for 8:00 p.m. ET at Footprint Center where the Suns are -2.5 point favorites at BetOnline. The total is 228.
Phoenix Suns (50-40, 1-2)
Booker and Kevin Durant combined for 86 points in Game 3 as Phoenix got back into the Western Conference semifinals with a 121-114 victory. Booker matched his playoff career high with 47 points on 20-of-25 shooting with added nine assists, six rebounds and three steals as the fourth-seeded Suns cut their deficit to 2-1 in the Western Conference semifinals.
DEVIN BOOKER GOES FOR 47 🔥#PLAYOFFMODE MASTERPIECE
20-25 FG
9 AST
3 STL@Suns WDEN/PHX Game 4: Sun, 8 PM ET | TNT pic.twitter.com/u4rfw686Hu
— NBA (@NBA) May 6, 2023
It was the third time in eight playoff games that Booker scored 45 points or more.
Durant went 12 for 31 while scoring 39 points.
Kevin Durant moves to 7th all-time in Playoff scoring, helps lead the @Suns to a HUGE Game 3 win!
39 PTS | 9 REB | 8 AST | 2 BLK
📅 DEN/PHX Game 4: Sun, 8pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/FWHFw2NIZo
— NBA (@NBA) May 6, 2023
Suns point guard Chris Paul (groin) sat out Friday and also is expected to miss Game 4.
Denver Nuggets (59-31, 2-1)
Jamal Murray scored 32 points in Game 3 and Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 17 rebounds and a personal playoff-career-high 17 assists. It was Jokic’s ninth career playoff triple-double.
HISTORIC Game 3 from Nikola Jokic!
Only player in NBA history to record 25+ points, 15+ rebounds, and 15+ assists in a Playoff game:
30 PTS
17 AST
17 REBDEN/PHX Game 4: Sun, 8pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/qZRZu51SPF
— NBA (@NBA) May 6, 2023
Jokic is averaging 31 points, 17.3 rebounds and 9.0 assists in the series.
The Nuggets will have to avoid long scoring droughts like they had in the fourth quarter of Game 2. They missed 13 of its first 14 field-goal attempts in the final stanza.
Denver Defense
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone made it clear that his club’s defense will have to be vastly improved on Sunday. The primary focus will be on defending Booker, who is averaging 36.9 points per game this postseason.
Phoenix shot 50.5 percent from the field, including 9 of 28 (32.1 percent) from 3-point range.
The Suns made the right adjustments
Phoenix opted for more shooting and a faster pace in Game 3. Now its up to Denver as to whether they want to make an adjustment of their own or stick with what worked so well the first two games.
The Suns are one of the best teams in the NBA at home, and the Nuggets have struggled at the Footprint Center, losing five of the last six in the arena. However, the Suns were one-dimensional in the Game 3 victory, and Denver, while not as deep as Phoenix, also has plenty of elite scoring options.
If Phoenix shoots lights out again in Game 4, there’s not much Denver can do. But if the Nuggets smother the Suns like they did in the first two games of the series, they could win Game 4 and head back to the Mile High city with a chance to clinch in Game 5.
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