Nikola Jokić exploded for 53 points on Sunday. It wasn’t enough.
The Phoenix Suns countered with big games from Devin Booker and Kevin Durant in a frantic 129-124 win over the Denver Nuggets. The game was an offensive showcase from both teams that featured All-NBA players at their best. In the end, Phoenix had more firepower and tied the Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2 after dropping the first two games in Denver.
Durant and Booker set the tone early with Durant tallying 11 first-quarter points and Booker 13. Durant, who shot less than 39% from the field in each of Games 2 and 3, capped the first quarter with a catch-and-shoot fadeaway buzzer beater to cut Denver’s lead to 34-32.
Jokić tallied nine points in the first quarter, then turned things up in the second en route to a 24-point half while scoring 11 straight Denver points. He also got involved in a bizarre encounter with Suns owner Mat Ishbia in the stands.
Jokić challenges Suns owner in stands
Ishbia had corralled a loose ball in his courtside seat. Jokic then forcefully took it from him and shoved the Suns owner back into his seat.
The shove drew an unsportsmanlike technical foul, but Jokić remained in the game. He also remained red hot after halftime.
Jokić put on another personal scoring run with 13 straight Nuggets points in the third quarter to finish the stanza with 42. But Phoenix met his outburst with a 14-for-18 effort from the field, its best shooting quarter of the season. The hot shooting sent the Suns into the fourth with their then-biggest lead of the game at 98-92.
There, Landry Shamet joined the party with a 14-point fourth-quarter effort for Phoenix. Jokić and Jamal Murray kept the pressure on, but Phoenix never relinquished its late lead.
Booker and Durant enough for short-handed Suns
Booker and Durant each scored 36 points. Durant added 11 rebounds, six assists and two steals to his tally while shooting 11 of 19 from the floor and 2 of 4 from 3-point distance. Booker, who entered the game leading the playoffs with 36.9 points per game, added 12 assists and six rebounds to his total. He shot a scorching 14 of 18 from the field while connecting on 3-of-4 3-point attempts.
As a team, Phoenix shot 56.8% from the field and 13 of 29 (44.8%) from 3-point distance. Booker, Durant and Shamet were only Phoenix players to score in double figures. Deandre Ayton struggled to contribute on offense while tallying eight points and eight rebounds, attempting just six field goal attempts.
But the Suns’ stars did enough to book the win alongside a balanced bench effort that saw Phoenix reserves outscore Denver’s, 40-11. Chris Paul remained sidelined for a second straight game with a groin injury. His status for Game 5 isn’t clear, but a reported initial timeline projected him to be sidelined through at least Game 5.
Will Jokić face discipline for shove?
Jokić added 11 assists and four rebounds to his 53-point tally. Murray posted 28 points, seven assists and five rebounds while shooting 13 of 25 from the field. Michael Porter Jr. struggled from the field in a 4-for-13 effort with 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. He shot just 2 of 9 from 3-point distance and missed all three of his fourth-quarter 3s as Denver tried to rally.
The series shifts back to Denver for Game 5 on Tuesday with some added off-day stress in Denver. Jokić wasn’t ejected for his shove of Ishbia, but the NBA is sure to review the incident with further discipline potentially on the table.
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker needed just a little bit more offensive help, someone to take just the tiniest bit of pressure off Phoenix’s high-scoring tandem.
Along came Landry Shamet, who elevated his game — five 3-pointers, 19 points — as the Suns equalized the second-round series at 2-2 against the Denver Nuggets.
It’s the X-factors who are helping swing a series that moves back to the Mile High City for Game 5 on Tuesday night. Philadelphia also plays at Boston with that series tied at 2-all.
Durant and Booker are simply doing what stars do — shine. Same with the Nuggets in Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, whose 53-point performance in a 129-124 loss Sunday was overshadowed by a sideline fracas with Suns owner Mat Ishbia (Jokic drew a $25,000 fine from the league for making improper contact).
Shamet certainly stepped up for Phoenix in Game 4. The contest before, it was Cameron Payne who started in place of the injured Chris Paul and scored seven points, including a big 3-pointer early in the fourth.
Now, it’s Nuggets coach Michael Malone’s turn to find a counter. Malone hinted it could be extended minutes for veteran point guard Reggie Jackson or possibly more floor time for shooting guard Peyton Watson. It may be a change in schematics, too.
Anything to wrestle back momentum from the Suns.
“We owe it to ourselves to make sure we’re looking at everything we can do to give us our best chance of winning,” Malone said. “Whether that’s adjusting the game plan, whether that’s adjusting the rotation, everything is on the table.”
Booker was sizzling in Phoenix, shooting 79% from the floor and scoring a combined 83 points over two games.
“That’s just Book — he looks for those moments to not just make those shots but send a message to his team that he can carry us,” Suns coach Monty Williams explained. “He practices all those shots. I’ve seen it. … He would sit right here and tell you that even though he made those shots we have more work to do. That’s what I’m going to say as well.”
It was the bench that provided quite a boost for the Suns in Game 4. The reserves for the Suns outscored the Nuggets’ reserves by a 40-11 margin, with Shamet leading the way. Terrence Ross and Jock Landale each added eight.
“We knew this series wasn’t going to be easy. They’ve got two of the top few scorers in this league on their team,” Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. said. “We’ve got to figure out how to slow those guys down a little bit.”
That and finding more options to take the offensive load off Murray and Jokic, the two-time NBA MVP who’s averaging 36.5 points, 14 rebounds and 9.5 assists.
Aaron Gordon had a big performance in a Game 1 blowout with 23 points. In Game 2, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went 4 for 4 from beyond the arc, including back-to-back swishes that erased a deficit and put the Nuggets ahead for good early in the fourth quarter.
“We have to take what they’re giving us,” said Porter, who’s 9 of 25 from deep in the series. “There are some ways that I think we can get everybody involved.”
76ERS AT CELTICS
Series tied 2-2. Game 5, 7:30 p.m. EDT, TNT
— NEED TO KNOW: James Harden’s go-ahead 3-pointer in the closing seconds of overtime proved to be what the 76ers needed to fight off a late flurry by the Celtics in Game 4 and send their Eastern Conference semifinals series back to Boston tied up at two games apiece. Both teams have lost one home game so far in the matchup, while also claiming a win on the road.
— KEEP AN EYE ON: The 76ers’ rotation. Coach Doc Rivers acknowledged fatigue contributed to the Celtics being able to fight back from a 16-point deficit in the third quarter. But he plans to stick to an eight-man rotation. Harden (47) and Joel Embiid (46) led Philadelphia in minutes played in Game 4, with four starters logging 40 or more.
— INJURY WATCH: Embiid’s minutes were the most he’s played since returning in Game 2 from a sprained right knee. He acknowledged the extra time affected him late in Game 4.
— PRESSURE IS ON: The Celtics. Upon further review, Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said he would have taken a timeout following Harden’s go-ahead 3-pointer in Boston’s 116-115 overtime loss in Game 4. “Hindsight is 20/20. I should have called (a timeout) to help us get a 2-for-1 or a couple more possessions,” Mazzulla said. “Obviously, with (18.2 seconds) left, down one you want to get as many chances as you can. So I definitely learned from that.”
SUNS AT NUGGETS
Series tied 2-2. Game 5, 10 p.m. EDT, TNT
— NEED TO KNOW: The Nuggets have gone 39-7 at home this season, including 5-0 in the playoffs. “We did our job. They did their job,” Jokic said. “In the end, it’s going to be an interesting game.”
— KEEP AN EYE ON: Denver’s defense. “The two games in Denver, I felt our defense was great. We left it somewhere in the desert. It didn’t arrive in Phoenix,” Malone said. “That’s got to be paramount. If we’re going to go up 3-2 and get control of the series again, it’s got to start with defense again.”
— INJURY WATCH: Paul remains day-to-day with a left groin strain, but has been getting in some work. “He’s just getting his shots up and more than likely just seeing where he is,” Williams said. “But I haven’t gotten one official report on Chris. So nothing’s changed for me.”
— PRESSURE IS ON: Porter and the Nuggets. The team was a combined 7 of 22 from 3-point range in Game 4, including 2 of 9 from Porter. This after he hit six 3-pointers in Game 3. “Definitely a must-win,” Porter said of Game 5.