Kevin Durant scored 30 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and blocked five shots as the Phoenix Suns defeated the defending champion Nuggets 104-97 on Wednesday night.
“I’m glad we didn’t let that San Antonio game bleed over into the next game,” Durant said, referring to the Suns’ trip loss Monday night to a Spurs club missing rookie wonder Victor Wembanyama.
The Suns, who have the most difficult remaining schedule in the NBA, pulled a half-game ahead of Sacramento for seventh place in the Western Conference, as they strive to climb to sixth to avoid a play-in game. Dallas is sixth place, half a game ahead of Phoenix.
The Western Conference-leading Nuggets struggled without starting point guard Jamal Murray, who missed his third consecutive game due to a sprained left ankle.
Nikola Jokic had 22 points, nine rebounds, and 10 assists despite lower back stiffness and left hip soreness.
The Nuggets, a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City and Minnesota, lost for the third time in 18 games since the All-Star break, with two of those losses coming at home against the Suns, who won 117-107 in overtime at Ball Arena on March 5.
Denver won six straight home games after that, but they were once again defeated by the Suns’ excellent long-range shooting on Wednesday night, when they made 16 of 33 attempts from behind the arc. Denver was 10 for 40 on threes.
Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon each scored 18 points for Denver, but the Nuggets’ bench shot only 5 of 19, and the team was outrebounded 39-29.
“Not once did I think these guys are playing harder than us,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “Most teams regard every game as vital. We’re attempting to keep the top seed. A desperate game does not have to follow a poor loss in San Antonio (like the Suns did).
“So, I believe our team performed hard. Could we’ve played better? Of course. And could we have fired more shots? That would have definitely improved the outcome.”
Jusuf Nurkic was out for Phoenix with a sprained right ankle suffered in the third quarter of the Suns’ 104-102 loss to San Antonio on Monday night.
Bradley Beal exited that game with a sprained right ring finger, but he started Wednesday night and hit three 3-pointers in the opening quarter, setting the tone for the Suns’ torrid shooting performance, which included 15 3-pointers in their previous visit to Ball Arena.
Thad Young’s fadeaway 6-foot jumper over Jokic’s outstretched arms put the Suns up 59-52 at halftime, and Durant scored half of Phoenix’s points during a 10-0 run that helped the Suns seize control early in the third quarter.
The Nuggets closed to 71-68, but the Suns responded with a turnaround jumper from Durant and back-to-back 3-pointers from Booker and Eric Gordon, restoring Phoenix’s double-digit lead, which was never touched again.
“I would say we didn’t have carryover,” Suns coach Frank Vogel explained. “It manifested as concentration and intensity. We understand what’s at stake. We know how many games we have remaining. We know what the schedule is like.
“We still believe we’re confident versus anyone on the schedule, as evidenced by coming in and defeating the champs in their building. So the next game is up. The competition is strong. To continue winning games, we’ll need to replicate this and maintain this level.”