National Basketball Association
Denver 125, Phoenix 107
When: 8:30 PM ET, Saturday, April 29, 2023
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Officials: #51 Aaron Smith, #23 Tre Maddox, #58 Josh Tiven, #8 Marc Davis
Attendance: 19762

Jamal Murray scored 20 of his game-high 34 points in the second half and added nine assists, Nikola Jokic had 24 points and 19 rebounds and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 125-107 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Saturday night.

Aaron Gordon scored 23 points, Bruce Brown finished with 14 points off the bench, Michael Porter Jr. added 11 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 10 for the Nuggets in taking the 1-0 series lead.

Game 2 is Monday night in Denver, where the Nuggets have yet to lose in this year's playoffs.

Kevin Durant had 29 points, 14 rebounds and seven turnovers, Devin Booker scored 27 points and had eight assists, Deandre Ayton had 14 points and seven rebounds and Chris Paul added 11 points for the Suns.

Phoenix trailed by 15 early in the fourth quarter but cut its deficit to 10 with Durant getting a rare rest. Gordon and Murray hit layups to extend the lead to 106-92 with 8:21 remaining.

Booker converted a three-point play, but Murray answered with two makes from deep to restore Denver's 17-point lead and force a Suns timeout.

Paul missed a corner 3-pointer out of the timeout and the Nuggets began to pull away. Jokic scored on a finger roll and fed Brown for a dunk before Brown stole the ball from Durant and dunked again to put Denver ahead 118-95 with 5:09 left.

The teams emptied the benches for the final minutes.

The Suns led 32-31 after the first quarter behind 15 points from Durant, but he was held to just four in the second quarter.

Booker's layup with 9:46 left in the period put Phoenix ahead 39-38, but the Nuggets went on a 13-2 run to lead by 10. After the Suns cut the lead to six, Caldwell-Pope hit two shots from deep and Gordon made one from behind the arc to spark a 17-6 run to end the half and give Denver a 68-51 lead.

Phoenix got within 11 early in the third, but a pair of 3-pointers from Murray made it 83-66, and the Nuggets took a 94-81 lead into the fourth.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Phoenix   Denver
Kevin Durant 29 Scoring Jamal Murray 34
Devin Booker 8 Assists Jamal Murray 9
Kevin Durant 14 Rebounds Nikola Jokic 19
Devin Booker 7 Free Throws Made Nikola Jokic 5
Devin Booker 1 Steals Christian Braun 4
Kevin Durant 3 Blocks Peyton Watson 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Phoenix 107 51.2 7-23 14-17 20 38 5 4 16
Denver 125 47.5 16-37 13-15 22 49 1 14 10
Upcoming Games
  • Denver will play their next game at home against Phoenix. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .642 after a win and .655 after a loss.
  • Phoenix will play their next game on the road against Denver. The Suns have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .486 after a loss.