This is what we call a serious reaction. Two days after their “unacceptable” defeat on the Spurs floor, the Suns showed a conquering face to win on the floor of the best team in the West (97-104). And this for the second time during the month of March.
Embarked in a long-distance duel with Nikola Jokic (22 points, 9 rebounds and 10 assists) hampered by his back and hip, Kevin Durant was the big man of the match by showing omnipresence in his team's play on both sides of the field (30 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks), only marred by clumsiness with ball in hand (8 lost balls, i.e. as many than the entire opposing team…).
A reunion in the first round of the playoffs?
A necessary performance as his two main companions, Kevin Booker and Bradley Beal, who had started strong with three 3-point baskets in the first quarter, lacked skill. At the heart of a meeting with two teams wanting to defend, the Suns, deprived of Jusuf Nurkic (ankle), increased their short lead acquired at the break (52-59) by going 10-0 in the first minutes of the third quarter.
Without Jamal Murray (ankle), with a less productive bench than the one opposite and a Nikola Jokic who did not benefit so much from his duels with Drew Eubanks or with a still very toned Thaddeus Young, the Nuggets never been able to close this 10-15 point gap. More skillful behind the arc overall, the Suns saw their lead consolidated to 15 points, with five minutes to play (83-98), on a new award-winning basket from Kevin Durant. Victory awaited them.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The toughest schedule at the end of the season. During this meeting, there was a lot of talk about the Suns' schedule. “ We know what's at stake. We know how many matches we have left to play and what the schedule looks like “, cowardly Frank Vogel. To try to avoid having to go through the “play-in”, his men will have to work hard: nine matches remaining against big teams in the league, exclusively. In addition to the Thunder or the Pelicans, the Suns will face the Wolves and the Clippers twice. Enough to finish the regular season strong and arrive ready for the final phases, or on the contrary to finish very poorly…
– Rare setback for the Nuggets.« We are trying to maintain first place. You don't have to come off a bad loss in San Antonio to be in dire straits. Could we have played better? Of course. And could we have got in more shots? This would certainly have contributed to the outcome of the match », Formulated Mike Malone at the end of a meeting which deprived his team of a 5th victory in a row. Since the All-Star Game, his team has been racing through the league and has had a series of successes. Their previous series, of five victories in a row, had been stopped in Dallas. That of even before, of six victories, by these same Suns.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
