2023-05-10 04:33:00
The Denver Nuggets were the far better team in Game 5 in Denver, winning 118-102. While a quartet led by Nikola Jokic shone at home, the Suns behind Kevin Durant and Devin Booker lacked support.
Jokic had his next playoff triple-double with 29 points (12/20 FG), 13 rebounds, 12 assists, and hit some important shots to counter the Suns in their prime. He also had his teammates to rely on as Michael Porter Jr. (5/8 3P) and Jamal Murray (6 assists) were in good spirits with 19 points each and Bruce Brown had a career-best playoff game.
In just under 27 minutes coming off the bench, Brown scored 25 points on 7/11 from the field and 9/10 free throws he repeatedly annoyed his former Nets colleague Durant. He experienced a mixed evening with 10/24 FG for 26 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists with 5 turnovers. Booker wasn’t on his best form either with 8/19 field hits (4/7 3P) for 28 points.
The Suns held out well until the break, but then quickly lost contact with Denver. Deandre Ayton contributed 14 points, but some of them came too late, the center was never really a help. The same might be said for the Suns reservists, who also got many minutes due to foul play by the starters, but might hardly use them. Phoenix hit 9/27 from Downtown while the Nuggets sank 13/27.
The start of the game was visibly frustrating for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who first took an elbow from Booker in the face and bled while fighting for a ball, then was knocked over by Booker and called a blocking foul on himself. His effort and defense paid off, however, as the Suns didn’t get easy shots in the early stages.
NBA Playoffs: Michael Porter Jr. starts red hot
The Nuggets scored the first nine points and also secured their first double-digit lead. Porter Jr. was particularly hot with 4 threes in the first 9 minutes and 18 of the first 29 Nuggets points. Booker also started strong and shortened the first period to 24:35 with 12 points.
In the second quarter, Durant came slowly into the game offensively, but defensively he made a few untypical blunders. Overall, however, Phoenix was able to slow down the Nuggets’ attack and even grab the lead before Jokic promptly responded with a three. Denver took a razor thin lead of 52:49 at the break.
At the beginning of the second half, Suns coach Monty Williams relied on Landry Shamet instead of Josh Okogie, who was only on the floor for almost 5 minutes as a starter in the first round. For the Nuggets, Jokic, Porter Jr. and Murray all came out well from the catacombs, taking Denver up to +17 and fouling several Suns.
Shamet was found guilty three times in five minutes and, like Durant, went on the bench with four fouls, replaced by Warren and Okogie. Phoenix might hardly stop the powerful Nuggets during this phase, the Suns’ greatest resistance came during a brief pack formation at the end of the quarter. After a few nudges and a small flop from Jokic, the argument ended with technical fouls for Durant and Brown, with the Nuggets leading 91-74.
The Suns didn’t really gasp in the final section, but they didn’t have the answers on the defensive either. The Nuggets rarely ended an attack with a particularly difficult throw, so Williams raised the white flag with just four minutes to go and put his starters on the bench.
The most important statistics
Denver Nuggets (W1) – Phoenix Suns (W4) 118:102 (BOXSCORE), Serie: 3-2
- The Suns hit just 22 percent at ringside and 27 percent from downtown in the 1 half, yet they were only 3 points behind at the break. In the immediate vicinity of the basket, Phoenix scored significantly better in the second round, but not with distance throws. Denver hit just under 73 percent ringside throughout the game.
- The bigger problem in the second half was the Suns’ defense, which barely got access to the nuggets. With four very good nuggets, Denver hit 67 percent of the field following the break. Jokic posted 17 points (7/8 FG), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal in the third quarter alone.
- Sea ESPN Stats & Info The Joker is now the eighth player and first center in NBA history to have 10 triple-doubles in the playoffs. Magic Johnson tops the list with 30 triple-doubles, with LeBron James following with 28 before there’s a big gap to Russell Westbrook with 12 such games.
- Outlook: Historically, the winner of Game 5 of a previously even playoff series then had an 82 percent chance of winning the round.
The top of the game: Nikola Jokic
Of course, what was more surprising was Brown’s strong performance, who deserved the honor in Game 5. But it was once more a game in the category “Jokic is probably holding back a bit, he might turn it up more if he likes”, in which the center suddenly played a triple-double with outstanding shot odds. Jokic also seemed to end every long run the Suns had with a goal.
The flop of the game: Deandre Ayton
Unfortunately, Ayton is a permanent candidate in this category, but his charisma and performance simply do not meet the expectations of him in any way. His stats don’t even look that bad at the end, but following the eye test his substitute Jock Landale once more came out on top.
NBA Playoffs: Die Stats-Leader bei Suns vs. Nuggets
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