The Phoenix Suns lost their third game of the season to the Denver Nuggets by the final score of 127-120. The Suns’ chaotic style of play from last season returned, but the defense remained their Achilles’ heel in the loss. The Nuggets shot 52% from the field and were 20-for-38 from long distance. Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 39 points, 28 coming after halftime, and Christian Braun scored 31 points. Both Murray and Braun each shot 7-of-9 from long range, and far too many came with little to no
contest; Murray also went 12-for-15 from the free-throw line.
Dillon Brooks was on track to put up at least 30 himself after scoring 20 points in the first half but was ejected on a turnaround fadeaway where he kicked Murray in the midsection midway through the third quarter. After reviewing the foul, it was upgraded to a Flagrant Foul Penalty 2, and Brooks’ night was over. Miles Bridges did all he could on both ends, scoring 24 points, grabbing 9 rebounds, and defending with a lot more intensity than he has this season. Collin Gillespie had one of his best performances in a Suns uniform, and the rest of the bench showed tonight that they can keep the Suns in games all season long because of their connected and frenetic style of play. He scored 16 points and had 10 assists, which is only going to make the bench Jalen Green crowd even louder.
Speaking of Green, no one had a worse night than him. He finished with 2 points in 25 minutes. He was the one Sun tonight who almost always fell victim to ending possessions with just one or two passes before a shot or turnover. That just cannot be the case for the one who is entrusted to bring the ball up the floor so often.
Booker added 20 points but was only 7-of-19 and had a few blunders in the third and fourth quarters that were head-scratching. In the third quarter, Booker missed a wide-open layup, and in the fourth quarter, he had multiple miscues where he fouled Murray on a 3, let a 6-for-8 from 3 Braun take an uncontested corner 3, and threw up a wild shot in transition against Gordon trying to draw a foul.
Overall, the Suns lost because their defense could not contain a Nuggets offense that was in desperate need of a hot shooting night after a slow start to the season. The Nuggets had shooting luck on their side tonight, and the Suns could not force enough stops over the first three quarters (103 points) to keep up. Where the Suns did improve in this game was in the possession game. The Suns outrebounded the Nuggets 42-41, took 14 more shots (although the Nuggets took 19 more free throws), and outscored the Nuggets 28-to-16 in points off turnovers. They even out-assisted the Nuggets 34-to-30 and shot more 3s than the Nuggets and made 43% of their attempts, a respectable number most nights, but not when the other team goes 20-of-38.
Was this step at least in the right direction towards getting back to who this team was last season despite the loss?
Absolutely.
Game Flow
First Half
First Quarter
The Suns got off to a quick 10-5 start as Dillon Brooks and Miles Bridges each knocked down a 3 and scored early in the shot clock, attacking the Nuggets’ defense that wasn’t completely set. The Suns’ defense was sound as well; they forced deflections, rebounded the ball, and even forced a shot clock violation. The Nuggets got going as Christian Braun connected on a triple and Nikola Jokic got two flat-footed floating shots to put the Nuggets up 18-15 halfway through the first quarter. Then the Suns bench came in and changed the flow of the game. The one-or-two-pass possessions disappeared when Bridges and Jalen Green left the floor, and the Suns started generating easy shots and crashed the offensive glass.
The Suns have missed having Ighodaro on the floor the last two and a half games because of how well he screens and moves the ball. In his return, he and Gillespie found success with their patented two-man game, and Gillespie scored 9 points on threes 3s in the first quarter. Kennard also immediately benefited as Ighodaro created two wide-open shots with his driving and screening, resulting in 5 points from Kennard to give the Suns a 37-32 lead after the first quarter.
Second Quarter
The second quarter was an offensive onslaught by both teams, but especially from the Nuggets. Christian Braun torched the Suns again and hit three more 3s as the Nuggets finished the first half 13-of-20 from the 3-point line and shot 61% from the field overall in the first half. The Suns fell behind 59-54 after a couple of missed 3s and turnovers, but it was Brooks who pushed the Suns right back into the game to it up at 59-59 halfway through the second quarter. He finished the first half with 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting to match Braun’s 6-of-6 shooting from 3.
While it was not a perfect quarter, Booker showed a lot of aggression in the second quarter, taking shots quickly in the flow of the offense, and the Suns were running lots of actions to get Booker on the move in the midrange. He also knocked in two triples in the first half as he scored 10 points. And just as it was in the first quarter, it was the Suns bench players that were to thank for the great pace and rhythm offensively as Ighodaro and Gillespie each led the team with 5 assists each in the first half as well. But it was the Nuggets who scored 39 points in the second quarter and finished the half ahead 71-67.
Second Half
Third Quarter
The offensive avalanche from the Nuggets continued in the third quarter as the Suns offense struggled to hit open shots and had too many turnovers to keep pace. Jamal Murray had a quiet first half but exploded in this quarter to the tune of FOUR 3-point bombs on his way to 15 points in the period. He and Brooks were in the midst of a battle until Brooks turned on a fadeaway jump shot in the midrange, where his foot connected with the midsection of Murray. He was tossed from the game with a controversial Flagrant Foul Penalty 2 midway through the third quarter.
Despite the Nuggets’ continued hot stretch and a 98-88 point lead, the Suns had an opportunity to close the quarter strong. The Suns finally started playing their unbelievably chaotic brand of basketball where the ball was bouncing everywhere, and there were turnovers galore. The Suns capitalized on a Jokic turnover that resulted in a Bridges layup on the other end. But after another stop, a Booker turnover trying to feed Ighodaro turned into a Nuggets transition opportunity until the Suns forced another turnover, which led to Booker getting the most open 4-foot shot of his entire life that bounced off the rim, leading to a Nuggets transition opportunity where the Suns had to foul. The entire end of the third quarter was chaotic with the Suns having golden opportunities that they couldn’t cash in on. Nuggets led 103-93 to finish after three quarters of high-octane hoops.
Fourth Quarter
The final quarter started off with a bang, as Gillespie did everything he could to will the Suns back in the game. He found Bridges for a dunk attempt that ended in a foul, then hit a 3 on the next possession to make it a 103-98 right away. Gillespie then drew an offensive foul on Gordon to get the Suns the ball back with a chance to make it a one-possession game. The Suns ran a double screen play for Green, who got to the rim and missed both chances from point-blank range. The Suns’ momentum stalled there as Murray hit another 3 for the Nuggets.
The Suns continued to fight in the quarter, and even after a perfect defensive possession from Bridges locking up Gordon, it ended in a desperation 3-point chuck from Murray that went in; Booker answered right back with a 3 of his own to make it 111-105. After a timeout, the Suns forced a stop, and Green got the ball in transition with a full head of steam and just lost the ball to Murray, another momentum-stopping play. That was the last we would see of Green as he checked out with 2 points on 1-for-6 shooting in 25 minutes. Definitely a step backwards for him after the way he had played so far this season.
Those two instances were the best opportunities to put pressure on the Nuggets but there were more. The Suns got stops but could not capitalize on the opportunities they were given, especially Booker. The birthday man fouled Murray on a 3-point attempt, threw up a wild shot in transition against Gordon that did not get called for a foul, and then allowed Braun to shoot another wide-open 3 with no attempt at a contest from the corner that, of course, went in. The Nuggets led 118-107 before the Suns made one final run in the last minute of the game to try to pull off a miracle, but the Suns ended up on the wrong side of a 127-120 loss.
Up Next
The Suns travel to the Bay to face the Golden State Warriors for the second time this season at 8:00 pm Arizona time.
