The Nuggets blew the doors off the Suns in Game 5 behind a 39-point third quarter.
Denver made it a 3-2 series in the second round on Tuesday after a rollicking 118-102 victory over Phoenix. It was a complete and total team-win, as practically every player in Denver’s rotation had at least one big moment to swing the outcome of the game. Denver is undefeated at home in the postseason.
Nikola Jokić followed up his ridiculous 53-point Game 4 performance with another terrific outing: 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists. In the series, Jokić is averaging 35 points on 58 percent shooting and 47 percent from three, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists.
"Nikola never forces anything. I mean, he's a guy that literally will just read the game and take what the game offers," said Michael Malone. "I think sometimes we may take Nikola Jokić for granted because what he is doing is just incredible every single night."
Bruce Brown’s 25 points were the second-most points scored by any Nugget on Tuesday, and he did so on 7-of-11 shooting and two three-pointers. His 25 points were the most points any reserve has scored in the series, besting Landry Shamet’s 19 points in Game 4.
"He can push the pace, he can defend, he can go downhill, and he had ten free throws," said Jokić. "Going downhill, breaking that first line of defense... He was really good today."
Michael Porter Jr. had a sensational 19-point and 8-rebound outing, and he made 5-of-8 three-pointers. MPJ was also incredibly locked-in on defense, guarding Devin Booker credibly in the one-on-one and nailing his help rotations at the rim.
Jamal Murray followed up a rough first half with an excellent second half to finish with 19 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. His decision-making was particularly excellent.
"The last two games, Jamal's got 13 assists and 2 turnovers," said Malone. "He can score with the best of them, but sometimes the game dictates that you may need to be a playmaker. You may need to find the open man and make somebody else better, and I think he's done a really good job with that these last two games."
Phoenix was led by 28 points from Devin Booker and 26 points from Kevin Durant. However, the Nuggets did a better job of limiting both of Phoenix’s stars to just 41.8 percent shooting from the field.
The Nuggets outrebounded the Suns, making Denver 7-1 when they outrebound their opponent. They also shot a blistering 48.1 percent to Phoenix’s 33.3 percent from deep. Denver also outscored Phoenix in the paint, 50-44, and won the battle on the fastbreak, 31-23.
"We were more physical in trying to give up one shot, you know? They're a good offensive team, so we can't let him have multiple chances. I thought we did a good job of rebounding together," said Murray about Denver's rebounding. "Everybody pitched in, and we were just more physical. The energy's different. We're at home. Pace is different, it's a little faster for us."
Denver forced 3 early Phoenix turnovers en route to a 9-0 start. Michael Porter Jr. made two early threes after a rough 2-for-9 outing from deep in Game 4, a good sign for the Nuggets. He hit his third three at the 4:34 mark of the first, and then Aaron Gordon hit a corner three in transition to make it a 10-point game. Porter Jr. hit his fourth three-pointer, and Denver finished the first quarter ahead, 35-24.
T.J. Warren came off the bench and made an instant impact with four points on 2-of-3 shooting. Durant started to heat up after a rough 1-of-5 start with 8 early second-quarter points. Durant then tipped in a missed transition layup to make it a three-point game, and Booker hit a pull-up three out of the pick-and-roll to tie things up. Five points from Jokić at the end of the quarter made it a three-point game at the half with Denver ahead, 52-49.
Denver’s duo of Murray and Jokić got off to a good start in the third by putting up 11 combined points to build a 10-point lead, which forced a timeout from Phoenix. Jokić and Porter Jr. then hit two three-pointers to make it a 16-point game. Jokić kept pouring it in for 15 third-quarter points to make it a 20-point game. A pair of tough threes from Durant and Booker brought the score back down to 91-74.
Denver opened the fourth quarter with the right intensity behind two three-pointers from Brown and Murray to make it a 24-point game. They continued to maintain that advantage when Christian Braun ripped away a steal for a dunk. The Nuggets slammed home two more dunks—one from Murray and one from Gordon—as well as a layup from Bruce Brown, all of which were from crafty passes from Jokić. Monty Williams pulled his starters at the 4-minute mark, signifying the end of the game.
Milestone Watch
- Nikola Jokić passed Wilt Chamberlain for the most playoff triple-doubles for a center with 10 on Tuesday night.
- Denver finished with 31 fast break points, the most ever in a playoff game in franchise history. It was also the most in any NBA game since the Warriors had 32 vs the Raptors on June 7th, 2019.
- Bruce Brown’s 25 points were the fourth-most in the NBA this postseason by a reserve. He was also the twelfth player in Nuggets’ playoff history to drop 25+ points off the bench.
Denver heads to Phoenix for Game 6 on Thursday at 8 p.m. MT.