Nikola Jokic sinks the Suns and the Nuggets make the break

The start of the match is balanced, with two teams going blow for blow. But, it is the Nuggets who are ahead by a short head, thanks to the 9 entry points of Nikola Jokic (12-10). We immediately notice that the Suns decided to let Nikola Jokic shoot… At the end of a first quarter poor in skill where the defenses took over the attacks, it was the men of Monty Williams who led the score ( 21-18).

Under the impetus of their substitutes, the Nuggets began the second quarter with an 8-0, and took the lead (26-21). While we think that Denver will escape, Devin Booker, rather clumsy from the start, wakes up and allows his people to come back into contact (32-30). Phoenix concludes the quarter very well, and even returns to the locker room in the lead (42-40).

Chris Paul’s new injury

Carried by their trio Booker, Durant, Paul, the Suns entered the third quarter very well, against a Nuggets team which seemed to be beginning to doubt (57-51). On a harmless action, Chris Paul holds the adductor, and immediately takes the direction of the locker room. In the aftermath, Deandre Ayton then Kevin Durant each suffered their 4th fault. Nevertheless, Phoenix resists Denver’s return for the moment, and leads by three points at the start of the last 12 minutes (73-70).

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scores two consecutive 3-point baskets to allow the Nuggets to come back in front (76-73). 4 minutes from the end, Mike Malone’s men still have a three-point lead (84-81). KCP, again, still crashes at long distance, and offers an eight-point lead to the Suns (89-81). The Suns will not recover, the Nuggets make the break in the series by winning 97-87.

WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER

– Denver “clutch”. In a relatively very close match, Nikola Jokic’s teammates made the difference in a 4th quarter won 27-14, against a Suns team that did not hold out over time. Once again, the Nuggets raised their defensive level in the final minutes.

– Chris Paul’s injury. Ouch ouch… Decidedly Chris Paul is cursed. After a rebound struggle with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, the Suns point guard held his left adductor directly after his reception. He immediately takes the direction of the locker room, and will not return from the match. It’s a huge blow for the Suns, who lose their starting point guard. But it is also a blow for the player himself, who multiplies injuries in the playoffs in his career.

– Free throws. Obsessed with the 3-point shot, the Suns forget to go to the circle, and they shoot only 5 free throws in the whole game! It’s less than Bruce Brown or Aaron Gordon.

TOPS/FLOPS

✅ Nikola Jokic. He simply made an exceptional match. Best player of the game, he finished with 39 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists! The Suns had decided not to take two. He punished them!

✅ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Real X factor of the match, it was he who made the difference for Denver in the 4th quarter. NBA champion in 2020, he finished with 14 points at 4/4 at 3-pointers!

✅ Devin Booker. After a rocky start to the game, he powered up and rolled over the Nuggets defense. He finished with 35 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds. Beware of nervousness at the end of the match.

⛔️ Jamal Murray. Dazzling during Game 1, this time he completely got through with a 3/15 in shooting including 0/9 from 3-pointers…

⛔️ Kevin Durant. He missed his match with a failing address of 10/27 (37%) in shooting including an ugly 2/12 from 3-pointers…

⛔️ The Suns bench. The substitutes were cataclysmic with just 4 points scored…

THE FOLLOWING

Game 3 in Phoenixon the night of Friday to Saturday (4h).

denver / 97 Shots Bounces Players Minimum Shots 3 points LF O D T pd party Int bp CT +/- Points Rating A.Gordon 38 5/8 1/3 5/6 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 1 +11 16 15 Mr. Porter Jr. 23 2/7 0/2 1/1 0 4 4 1 0 0 0 1 -12 5 6 N.Jokic 41 17/30 2/6 3/4 3 13 16 5 2 2 3 1 +2 39 46 J.Murray 39 3/15 0/9 4/4 0 4 4 8 0 0 3 0 +14 10 7 K. Caldwell-Pope 41 5/6 4/4 0/0 2 3 5 2 2 1 1 0 +1 14 20 J. Green 16 1/3 0/2 0/0 0 4 4 1 3 0 1 2 +7 2 6 B.Brown 24 2/5 0/1 5/6 0 4 4 1 4 0 0 1 +12 9 11 C. Braun 16 1/2 0/0 0/0 0 3 3 0 3 0 0 0 +15 2 4 36/76 7/27 18/21 5 36 41 19 16 5 10 6 97 115

phoenix / 87 Shots Bounces Players Minimum Shots 3 points LF O D T pd party Int bp CT +/- Points Rating K. Durant 44 10/27 2/12 2/2 1 7 8 3 4 1 2 2 -4 24 19 J.Okogie 22 1/3 0/2 0/0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 D.Ayton 32 7/10 0/0 0/0 4 4 8 4 5 0 4 1 0 14 20 C. Paul 25 4/10 0/0 0/0 1 4 5 6 0 0 0 0 +8 8 13 D.Booker 44 14/29 4/8 3/3 0 5 5 6 4 0 2 0 -7 35 29 I. Wainright 2 0/0 0/0 0/0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 -6 0 0 T.Craig 11 0/2 0/2 0/0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 -10 0 -1 B.Biyombo 10 1/2 0/0 0/0 0 4 4 0 3 0 1 0 -1 2 4 J.Landale 5 0/0 0/0 0/0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 -9 0 2 C. Payne 16 1/7 0/4 0/0 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 1 -16 2 -1 D.Lee 25 0/5 0/3 0/0 3 3 6 2 1 0 0 0 -5 0 3 38/95 6/31 5/5 11 28 39 23 25 2 9 4 87 89

How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D= defensive rebound; T = Total Bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Points = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.