The Nuggets needed a bounce-back performance after a defensive no-show against the Spurs to end their NBA Cup chances. Both Denver and Phoenix looked fatigued at times after getting in late Saturday morning, but hot shooting from everyone, including a career night for Spencer Jones, snuffed out the Suns early attempts to hack-and-gun their way to an upset.
The Nuggets forgot they were playing a professional basketball game for the first four minutes. The Suns zerged to an 8-0 lead, outworking the Nuggets on both ends and forcing 5 early turnovers, prompting a quick timeout. Jokic broke the drought with a dunk, and after several misses by Phoenix and Watson’s aggression on the defensive glass, the lead was cut to 11-6. A Murray three followed by a layup on a Jokic feed and the game was tied 11-11 at the halfway point of the first.
Murray continued to push the pace to close out the quarter. After the teams traded several missed shots and turnovers, Jamal drained a step-back three, giving the Nuggets their first lead. Jokic added a pair of FTs, and a Collin Gillespie turnover led to a Tim Hardaway Jr. jumper and a six-point lead—a sign of much more THJ scoring to come. Jokic and former Nuggets great Gillespie traded threes, then Hardaway and Gillespie went back-to-back. Nikola closed out the quarter with two free throws, giving the Nuggets a miraculous 30-25 after a lethargic start.
The second quarter was a continuation of the THJ show. Matching every punch Gillespie and Brooks could throw to start the quarter, THJ went tit-for-tat with 5/8 from three,17 first-half points. Murray helped as he came back into the game, hitting a pair of free throws to reclaim the Nuggets lead, 50-49. The Nuggets leaned on the Jokic/Murray two-man game to close out the quarter, capped off by a Murray three-point pullup to maintain a one-point lead. After an alley-oop layup from Jokic to Watson, the Nuggets went to the locker room with a 63-60 lead.
Both teams came out sluggish but firing from deep. Spencer Jones corked up a corner three to solidify the lead. Johnson followed that up with his second three of the game, extending the lead to 69-62. After a pair of bailout free throws for the Suns, Murray’s step-back three made him 4/7 from distance for 15 points. Booker kicked out his leg on a corner three, catching PWat and earning him three free-throws to get the Suns back to within 5. But a pair of Jokic freebies and Murray’s fifth three ballooned the lead to 77-67 with 7:08 left in the third. Following a Suns timeout, Jokic hit his second three to give the Nuggets their biggest lead of the game.
Despite being 0/9 from three in the third, the Suns clawed back with aggressive perimeter defense. The comeback began with two steals on bad Murray passes and a strip of Nikola, closing the gap to 82-76. Back in and still firing, though, Hardaway drilled a triple, and Jokic found Watson for a corner three to give the Nuggets a 12-point lead. THJ matched a Suns three, making him 7/10 from deep for 23 points, and Murray capped off a dominant quarter with a spinning layup and-one, solidifying a 96-85 lead for the good guys going into the fourth.
Jonas, Brown, Jones, Johnson, and Hardaway Jr. secured and built on the early fourth quarter lead. Bruce found Val on a cut for his sixth assist and then went coast-to-coast off a rebound, shades of his 2023 game and giving the Nuggets a 16-point lead. After Jones’ second corner three(!) and a 21-point lead at the 8:00 mark, the rout was on. Murray checked back in for a vintage fadeaway at the top of the lane as the Suns tried to regroup for one last push.
Jokic checked back in with four minutes left to seal the win. He immediately found Cam for a three and then Jones for a dunk and his10th assist, leading to the Suns throwing in the towel.
FINAL SCORE: Nuggets 130, Suns 112
GAME NOTES:
- Jokic finished 26/9/10, his 68th Sombor Double
- The Nuggets have now won 10 straight road games on back-to-backs
- Spencer Jones’ 4 threes led to a career-high 16 points
