The Phoenix Suns won a must-play Game 3 against the Denver Nuggets at the Footprint Center in Phoenix on Friday night to win their first game in the NBA Playoffs series.
Devin Booker and Kevin Durant led the way to Phoenix with a 2-1 win in the series.
Booker finished with 47 points on 20-to-25 field goal attempts.
Durant had 39 points on 12-for-31 shooting.
Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 32 points while Nikola Jokic had 28 points, 17 assists and 17 rebounds.
Interestingly, Booker went 2-on-2 off the line and didn’t hit his free throws until the final seconds of the game.
While Booker and Durant were history for the Suns, Phoenix got some key contributions off the bench, an area where they’ve struggled this postseason.
Jock Landale played 22 minutes and had six points and nine rebounds. In doing so, he trumped starting center Deandre Ayton, who had nine rebounds and four points in 26 minutes.
TJ Warren had seven points in 26 minutes and Terrence Ross had five points in 14 minutes.
Cameron Payne started as point guard in place of the injured Chris Paul and played for 30 minutes, scoring seven points and giving six assists.
The Suns went 16-for-18 from the free throw line, Kevin Durant 14-for-16.
The nuggets were 18-for-21.
Denver was 43-to-97 from the field while Phoenix was 48-to-95.
The Nuggets had a 51-41 rebound advantage, including a 16-7 lead on the offensive glass.
Game 4 of the series takes place in Phoenix on Sunday.
end result: Suns 121, Nuggets 114
With 1:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Suns are now up 116-107 after Devin Booker hit his 44th and 45th point of the night with a driving scoop.
Not too shabby. And the 45 points came in 20-a-side shooting without a single free-throw attempt.
Score: Suns 116, Nuggets 107 (1:03 left in fourth quarter)
It was the story of dynamic duos in this game.
Devin Booker has 43 points for the Suns while Kevin Durant has 36.
Jamal Murray has 32 points for the Nuggets, while Nikola Jokic has 26 (and 16 assists and 15 rebounds).
Score: Suns 109, Nuggets 104 (3:04 left in fourth quarter)
The Suns won their deciding Game 3 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix 105-98 with 4:57 left in the game.
Will they be able to hold off Denver and win their first game of the series?
Devin Booker came back into play with five fouls.
Jock Landale has replaced an ineffective Deandre Ayton for the Suns. Landale was the more influential big man in that game for Phoenix.
Score: Suns 105, Nuggets 98 (4:57 left in fourth quarter)
Denver challenged a blocking foul on Jamal Murray on Devin Booker that would have given Booker his fifth foul had it been overturned, but it was confirmed.
Booker, on the other hand, conceded his fifth foul a short time later. So at 7:38 in the game the Suns Guard has to be very careful. Monty Williams took Booker out of the game after picking up the foul.
Score: Suns 101, Nuggets 92 (7:38 left in fourth quarter)
The Suns opened the fourth quarter by beating the Nuggets 7-0 to establish a 97-88 lead with Nikola Jokic on the bench for Denver. Denver were outscored that game by 11 points while Jokic was on the bench.
Devin Booker has up to 39 points in the game in 15-for-22 shooting. He also has six rebounds and six assists.
Score: Suns 97, Nuggets 88 (10:29 left in fourth quarter)
The Denver Nuggets outplayed the Phoenix Suns 36-23 in the third quarter to turn a 15-point deficit at halftime into a 2-point deficit going into the fourth quarter.
The stakes are high in the fourth quarter as the Nuggets attempt to take a comfortable 3-0 lead in the series and the Suns look to return to the series from a 2-1 deficit.
Something tells us this game will boil down to which stars rise in the fourth quarter.
Devin Booker has 35 points for Phoenix and Kevin Durant has 28.
Jamal Murray has 28 points for Denver and Nikola Jokic has 19.
An interesting stat in this game: Durant is 11-to-12 from the free throw line. He is the only Suns player attempting a free throw.
The nuggets are 12-for-15 off the line.
Score: Suns 90, Nuggets 88 (late third quarter)
At halftime, the Suns were 15 points ahead.
You are no longer 15 ahead.
Denver wiped out the halftime deficit in the third quarter as the Nuggets were attackers after the half.
The Suns are struggling to find a rhythm on offense. Devin Booker was her rhythm with 32 points in the game.
Denver outplayed Phoenix 30-18 in the quarter.
Jamal Murray was dynamic for the Nuggets with 28 points in 28 minutes into the game.
Score: Suns 85, Nuggets 82 (3:09 left in the second quarter)
The Nuggets beat the Suns 13-4 in the third quarter and are now up 71-65.
Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton both committed their third fouls earlier in the quarter.
Aaron Gordon is the only Denver game with three fouls.
Jamal Murray is now in the game with 24 points, 10-to-17 from the field.
Nikola Jokic is 5-to-9 for 13 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Score: Suns 69, Nuggets 60 (8:08 left in third quarter)
Well, that was a quarter for the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns beat the Nuggets 38-21 in the quarter and built a 67-52 lead in the game.
It was the Devin Booker and Kevin Durant show for the Suns.
Booker has 27 points in the game in 12-for-15 shooting. Durant has 21 points on 5-for-16 shooting but 11-for-12 from the free throw line.
Phoenix upped the pace in the game and drove aggressively to the basket. It paid off to help the Suns build a 15-point lead.
The Suns’ bench has been badly maligned in the postseason, but let’s give them some props for their first-half play. Jock Landale played some great minutes for the Suns in that first half, scoring four points.
Terrence Ross and TJ Warren played 10 minutes and 12 minutes respectively in the first half after barely downplaying the season’s stretch. Ross has five points in the game and Warren has two, but the Suns are +17 with Warren in the game.
Score: Suns 67, Nuggets 52 (Halftime)
The Suns are on a 19-3 run against the Nuggets and outplayed Denver 23-9 in the second quarter to establish a 52-40 lead in the game.
Devin Booker is 11-to-14 out of the field with 25 points. He’s 3-for-5 from the 3-point range.
The Suns are 20-to-38 off the field. The Nuggets have cooled significantly and are going 16-to-37 out of the field. They’re 4-for-13 off the field in the second quarter.
Score: Suns 52, Nuggets 40 (4:45 left in the second quarter)
The Suns beat the Nuggets 16-8 in the second quarter and have a 45-39 lead in the game.
Kevin Durant was the catalyst, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the quarter while going 9-on-9 from the free throw line.
Phoenix got some impressive minutes from Jock Landale off the bench. The Suns’ bench is up to eight points in the game, which isn’t much, but it’s a start.
Durant is the only Suns player attempting a free throw. Denver is 3-for-3 from the line.
Score: Suns 45, Nuggets 39 (6:47 left in the second quarter)
The Suns could shoot a lot of free throws against the Nuggets in the second quarter.
Phoenix is in the bonus nine minutes from time and Kevin Durant takes advantage of the situation, now in play 7-for-7 from the free throw line.
Durant attacked the rim very aggressively in the quarter and it’s paying off for Phoenix.
Score: Suns 37, Nuggets 37 (8:22 left in first half)
The Denver Nuggets lead 31-29 over the Suns after the first quarter of Game 3 in Phoenix.
Devin Booker had 18 points for the Suns on 8-for-10 shooting in the first quarter.
Jamal Murray had 12 points for the Nuggets in 5-for-8 shooting.
The Suns were 13-to-24 off the field in the first quarter while the Nuggets were 12-to-24.
Booker could probably use some help in the second quarter. Maybe Kevin Durant, who was 1-7 off the field for three points in that first quarter, can heat up for Phoenix.
The Suns could definitely use a hot hand from the star as they try to avoid a 3-0 deficit in this series with the Nuggets.
Score: Nuggets 31, Suns 29 (end of Q1)
Kevin Durant struggled against the Nuggets in Game 2 and he got off to a tough start in Game 3.
Durant is only 1-to-7 for the Suns, with three points in the game.
Devin Booker has 16 points for Phoenix, making up for Durant’s slow start.
Durant’s slow start isn’t the only potential concern for Phoenix in the game. Deandre Ayton didn’t attempt a shot in the early days and the Suns have just nine points from people not named Devin Booker.
The Nuggets have an 11-6 advantage on the boards, including a 3-0 lead on offensive glass.
The Suns also have just two points off their bench in nine minutes.
Jamal Murray is up 10 points for the Nuggets.
Score: Nuggets 26, Suns 25 (1:54 left in Q1)
Devin Booker burns for the Suns early in Game 3.
The Suns guard has nine of the team’s first 13 points in 4-for-5 shooting as Phoenix have an early 13-9 lead over the Nuggets.
There were some really good signs for Phoenix early on, but it’s early days. Cameron Payne is 1-on-1 off the field and has two assists.
The suns are 6-for-10 from the field. The team pushes the ball and tries to keep the tempo high.
Jamal Murray has gotten off to a good start for the Nuggets, with six points early on.
Score: Suns 13, Nuggets 9 (8:06 left in the first quarter)
The Suns vs. Nuggets game is being delayed because the other playoff game of the night, Celtics vs. 76ers, just wrapped up.
The Celtics won the game 114-102 and took a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Duane Rankin breaks down three early keys to Friday night’s Suns vs. Nuggets game.
With Chris Paul for the Suns, Cameron Payne starts on guard alongside Devin Booker.
Kevin Durant and Josh Okogie are the starting forwards for Phoenix and Deandre Ayton is the starting center.
The Nuggets go with their regular starting lineup of Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon as forwards, Nikola Jokic at center, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jamal Murray as guards.
Watch Friday’s Suns vs. Nuggets game on ESPN.
You can view the full schedule for the Suns vs. Nuggets NBA Playoffs Series here.
USA TODAY Sports’ Sportsbook Wire has the Suns won in Game 3, 114-113.
It said: “The Suns are recording 113.6 points per game, just 1.1 points above the 112.5 the Nuggets allow. If Phoenix scores more than 112.5 points, they are 31-11-2 against the spread and 34-10 overall. Denver has a 36-11-1 record against the spread and a 40-8 record overall when surrendering less than 113.6 points. The Nuggets’ 115.8 points per game is just 4.2 points more than the 111.6 the Suns give to their opponents.
For more tips and predictions for the competition, click here.
According to Tipico Sportsbook, the Suns are a 3.5-point favorite over the Nuggets.
Phoenix is at -180 on the moneyline while Denver is at +155.
The over/under for the game is set at 224.5 points.
For more NBA Playoffs series Suns vs. Nuggets odds click here.
Pre-game reading for Nuggets vs. Suns Game 3
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Phoenix Suns can call on TJ Warren and Terrence Ross to help Devin Booker and Kevin Durant load points
Phoenix Suns practice without Chris Paul (groin) before Game 3 vs Denver Nuggets
Without Chris Paul, the Phoenix Suns will have to accelerate to beat the Denver Nuggets
Reach Jeremy Cluff at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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