Nuggets win ugly over the Suns, taking commanding lead in the series
May 2, 2023, 6:53 AM
Nuggets coach Michael Malone stepped to the podium post-game proud of his team with a significant scrape on his forehead.
“You going on the injury report?” I asked.
“Me?” asked Malone.
“Yeah,” I replied.
“No… you should see the other guy,” Malone said to the laughs of the assembled muggles.
It was as solid of a walk-off line as you could imagine, putting a stamp on one of the most satisfying wins of the year.
The genesis of the Malone’s injury was pickleball, but it wouldn’t have been a stretch to say he coached a street fight on Monday night.
The Nuggets took a 2-0 series lead over the Suns with their 97-87 win at Ball Arena. The defining moment was a stellar fourth quarter, where Denver outscored Phoenix 27-14.
The shockingly low amount of points allowed is significant. The Suns were 7-of-25 from the field in the fourth, including 0-for-9 from three. The Nuggets domination is unquestioned when it matters the most, as they are plus-41 in the fourth during this playoff run, winning seven straight final quarters.
This means that no matter what is happening in the game, the Nuggets will win the final stanza. How they win it is the question, but the undeniable fact, in the playoffs so far. They will find a way.
“It’s the roster and everybody who is playing,” said Nikola Jokic on the resilience of the team. “Sometimes, it’s Bruce (Brown) who is having a good game. Sometimes, it’s Mike (Michael Porter Jr.). Sometimes, it’s me, AG (Aaron Gordon), Jamal (Murray). Sometimes, it’s Christian (Braun) with good energy.”
I asked Jokic if he knew early on in the game that it was his turn to step up.
“Do you really think I did that?” smiled Jokic firmly planting his hands on the table clearly frustrated by the silly questions of mere mortals.
Jokic played the most, shot the most, scored the most and rebounded the most. He carried the Nuggets from the beginning of the game until the end. In a rare night of frustration, Porter Jr. and Murray couldn’t find their game. They combined for 15 points, going a combined 2-of-16 from three. Murray himself was 0-for-9 from three, which stunned him after the game.
“0-for-9 from three?!?” Murray realized looking at the score sheet throwing his hands over his head leaning back in a chair laughing at his own goose egg. “Yeah, it was a rough, rough shooting night.”
Murray and MPJ were just flat-out bad in terms of scoring the basket. For most teams, if two max-contract players are off their game, forget it; their side will lose and likely lose badly.
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker combined for 59 points on Monday night. In Game 1, they collected 56 points. Their team lost soundly in both games. It’s unthinkable what would happen to the Suns if those two players had a night like Murray and MPJ had. The Suns have zero depth and now a groin injury to Chris Paul will delete their impactful players even more.
But, that’s not the case with the Nuggets. As Jokic described, there’s always one to pick up for another. While every teammate gravitates around Jokic, the shooting star alongside him differs from game to game. Kentavius Caldwell-Pope has his shining moment in Game 2.
When nobody else could hit a bucket, this championship vet filled the scoring void, going 4-of-4 from three totaling a critical 14 points.
“Just staying focused and locked in,” said Kenny Pope on how he mentally handled his pressure shots in the fourth quarter. “I was just ready to shoot. Just ready to give it my all.”
After Game 1, Malone praises KCP’s unselfishness for being okay to sit the bench as Bruce Brown was taking his minutes. Monday night, it was MPJ’s turn to watch from the sidelines because KCP and Brown were both playing extraordinarily well. It truly doesn’t matter to this team who does what.
“To get KCP, who is one of the most-dominant two-way players in the league, was important,” explained Malone about the Nuggets biggest offseason acquisition. “He was the perfect fit to the starting lineup. We understand if you are going to win a championship, you have to be able to get stops. For two games, we’ve done a really good job. The real challenge is if we can bring it on the road. We will find out in two weeks when we play our next game.”
Malone was joking about the lengthy break between Games 2 and 3. The Nuggets next play in Phoenix on Friday night. Even this bizarrely long break benefits the Nuggets more so than the Suns. The injury to Paul is likely severe enough to take him out of the series. If not absent, he likely will be badly hampered.
The only thing the time off will do for the Suns is give them sleepless nights. They blew their grand opportunity. It would be shocking that the Nuggets would play worse in the rest of the series than they did on Monday night.
Not only did Denver survive; they thrived. Proving they can play lock down defense when it matters most is what should scare future opponents the most.
Whether or not the Suns can pull out some sort of miracle game in the Valley is virtually pointless. Fluky things can always happen. But it’s beyond clear about who is the better team. “Nugs in four!” chants rose again from the delirious crowd at the end of the game. This may not be just a homer chant; it could be prophetic.
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