On March 28, Beijing time, the NBA regular season ushered in a major event, the defending champion Nuggets, at home against the Phoenix Suns. Previously, the Nuggets had a record of 51 wins and 21 losses, ranking first in the West, and because the Thunder lost to the Rockets in overtime, the Timberwolves and Thunder both had a 50-22 record, one win behind the Nuggets. The Suns previously had a record of 42-30 and ranked eighth in the West, and the Lakers behind them have quietly won five consecutive games, chasing only 1.5 wins behind. The rest of the Suns' schedule is very difficult: in addition to playing the Nuggets today, they will play against the Thunder + Pelicans + Cavaliers + Timberwolves + Pelicans in a row, and then two games against the Clippers, and the final game against the Kings and Timberwolves in a row, with an average winning rate of 64.5% and only 58.3% for the Suns!
In contrast, Nuggets coach Malone has gradually started the team's rotation plan, compared to the Thunder and Timberwolves, the Nuggets must be the Western Conference playoff championship giants, and they don't want to meet opponents. However, from the perspective of the Nuggets, if they play the Lakers (Suns) in a row, they may meet the Clippers in the second round, but in fact, the first position in the West is not as good as imagined. Based on the fact that Jokic is basically certain to win the third MVP of his career, some American media have analyzed that the Nuggets may increase the rest time of Jokic, Porter, including Gordon and others in the remaining games, and do not rule out the possibility of actively choosing the second. Back in this game, the Suns start: Booker + Beal + Allen + Durant + Eubanks.
Nuggets starters: Reggie + Pope + Porter + Gordon + Jokic. At the beginning of the game, Beal hit two three-pointers in a row, Pope responded with a three-point point, Jokic made an easy layup around Eubanks, but Booker and Durant began to impact the basket, and Pope hit another three-point return! In the second half, Beal and Booker began to play in singles mode, Pope and Gillespie responded under Jokic, and the outside line repeatedly fired shots, and the two teams were tied at 29 in the first quarter! It can be seen that the Nuggets are free to retract and release, and the Suns' singles are a certain threat, but Jokic's tandem ability is too strong, and he has not yet made a force.
Back in the second quarter, Durant scored consecutive attacks, O'Neal picked up a leak under the basket, and the round-faced Deng seized the three-point opportunity, and the Suns opened an 8-point gap in waves. After the timeout, the Suns' Bol continued to score three points, Malone immediately called a timeout again, this timeout had an effect, Pope and Porter took turns to score jumpers, Allen and Bol responded with a three-point rain, and Gordon continued to attack the Suns basket. In the second half, Gillespie hit a three-pointer, Jokic made consecutive silky layups, and Vogel quickly called a timeout! At the end of the quarter, Durant continued to play singles to stabilize the situation, and the Suns led the Nuggets 59-52 at halftime. Durant had 14 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks, Beal and Booker both had 10 points, while the Nuggets had 14 points, Pope and Gordon both had 11 points, and Jokic had 6 points and 7 assists.
At the beginning of the second half, the Suns took the lead, Durant's mid-range, Eubanks' one-arm split dunk 2+1, plus Durant's difficult dodge layup and dry three-point shot, the Suns instantly opened a 15-point difference! But the Nuggets quickly responded, Jokic slowly threw + jumped against Durant, and then hit three points, and then hit three points, facing Durant to play 2+1 again! Nuggets caught up with the score in a wave of 12-0 instantly. Booker and Gordon responded with a three-point rain in the second half, and the Suns went on a 10-0 run, and Jokic fed Reggie five points in a row, and the Suns led the Nuggets 83-73 after the third quarter. It feels like after the Thunder's loss, the Nuggets' willingness to keep the first place is not so strong, and Malone has never liked to be a birdie.
In the fourth quarter, Thaddeus Young and Gordon made consecutive layups, and Gordon on both sides were scoring, but after two three-pointers by O'Neal and Allen in the middle of the game, the Suns opened up a 14-point difference. At the decisive moment, Durant continued to shoot a three-pointer, Jokic singled, but Durant and Allen scored consecutive strong shots, and then Booker made free throws to seal the victory. In the end, the Suns defeated the Nuggets 104-97 and continued to maintain a two-win gap with the Lakers!
Sun statistics, Durant 30 points, 13 rebounds, 5 blocks and 8 turnovers, Booker 17 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists, Beal 10 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists, Gordon 10 points, Allen 13 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Nuggets statistics, Jokic 22 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists, Gordon 18 points and 6 rebounds, Porter 18 points and 8 rebounds, Pope 13 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, Reggie 11 points and 3 assists. The Suns moved up to seventh in the West after this game, hoping that they would be stronger when they were stronger, but Durant was under too much pressure.