![]() ![]() He scored 30 points, to go along with 17 assists and 17 rebounds. Mastery of the craftĭespite the loss, Jokić was ridiculous in Game 3, even by his standards. Even with Booker’s big night, even with Durant going off, if the Nuggets take half of those transition points away, they probably win the game. Those 23 points scored in transition proved huge when it mattered. The Suns pushed the ball after made baskets. The Suns pushed the ball after rebounding misses. And it was a facet of the game that the Nuggets seemed unprepared for. The byproduct of Phoenix missing Chris Paul, out with a groin injury, was how fast the Suns played Friday night. They didn’t allow the Suns to get out in transition. They took away some of Durant’s and Booker’s efficiency. But, they made the Suns work for almost every bucket they scored. In getting Games 1 and 2 in Denver, the Nuggets obviously conceded some things to Phoenix. “We expected to win,” Denver guard Jamal Murray said. They trailed by double digits for much of the game.Īnd they lost by seven in a game they had chances to win. They allowed 23 points in transition, on 10-of-14 shooting. They allowed Durant to get to the free-throw line 16 times and impose his will offensively. They allowed Booker to have a historically great game efficiency-wise for someone scoring 47 points. What the Nuggets can take away is the fact that they did a lot wrong Friday night. They have a lot of good players on that team.” “So we knew that it would be difficult to sweep them. “We know how talented a team Phoenix is,” Jokić said. The Nuggets trailed by as much as 11 in the fourth quarter, trimmed the deficit to six down the stretch and on multiple possessions had shots in the air that would have gotten them within a possession. And it would be despite the Suns getting timely shots from players like TJ Warren and Terrence Ross, and getting a yeoman’s effort from backup center Jock Landale.ĭenver took a 15-point halftime deficit, erased it, and took a lead late in the third quarter. It would be despite Kevin Durant scoring 39 points, grabbing nine rebounds and handing out eight assists. This would be despite Booker going off for his 47. The Nuggets were right there and had multiple opportunities to win this game. And for the most part, Denver didn’t do anything to prevent that. But, Phoenix’s path to winning this series is Booker going nuclear for 40-point nights. Booker has become such an offensive weapon that he’s going to sleepwalk his way into nights with 25-30 points. When you add all of those up, that’s how you get this stat line: 47 points, 25 shots to get those 47 points, six rebounds, plus nine assists because the Nuggets also didn’t squeeze his passing lanes. There wasn’t a single aspect of the game where the Nuggets were good on him. He scored in transition whenever he wanted. He got into the midrange whenever he wanted. You have to concede something to a guy like Booker, but Denver didn’t take anything away from him. “It was unacceptable,” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said.ĭenver several times allowed Booker to walk into relatively uncontested 3-point looks, which means the Nuggets didn’t pick him up high enough on the floor. That being said, the Nuggets were not good enough Friday night in defending him. He should probably be considered the best shooting guard in the league. ![]() He’s a guy who can be unstoppable once he gets going. His ability to create looks off the dribble, make contested shots, get to the basket and score at three levels is special. Listen: Devin Booker is one of the best offensive basketball players in the world. Suns' Chris Paul to miss at least a week with groin injury: Sources Booker goes off ![]()
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