National Basketball Association
Denver 97, Phoenix 87
When: 10:00 PM ET, Monday, May 1, 2023
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Officials: #30 John Goble, #42 Eric Lewis, #4 Sean Wright, #51 Aaron Smith
Attendance: 19592

Nikola Jokic scored 39 points and grabbed 16 rebounds as the host Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 97-87 on Monday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

Aaron Gordon added 16 points, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 14 points and made all four of his 3-point attempts for the Nuggets, who held Phoenix to 14 points in the fourth quarter. Jamal Murray scored 10 points and dished out eight assists.

Devin Booker scored 35 points, Kevin Durant had 24 points and Deandre Ayton added 14 for the Suns, who lost Chris Paul to left groin tightness in the third quarter. Paul produced eight points and six assists in 25 minutes.

Game 3 in the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Friday in Phoenix.

The Suns led by three points entering the fourth quarter, but they missed their first nine shots of the final period. Denver grabbed a 78-73 lead on two 3-pointers from Caldwell-Pope and a short jumper by Murray.

Durant broke the drought with a fadeaway and driving layup to make it a one-point game with 7:36 left.

The lead stayed within a five-point margin until under the three-minute mark, with both teams having chances to make a run. Jokic put the Nuggets ahead 86-81 when Durant was called for goaltending.

Bruce Brown blocked a Durant shot, and after a timeout, Caldwell-Pope hit another 3-pointer to give Denver an 89-81 lead with 2:43 to go. Cameron Payne missed at the other end, and Murray made a jumper to give the Nuggets a 10-point advantage, and the hosts closed it out.

After a high-scoring Game 1 on Saturday night (a 125-107 Nuggets win), the defenses were in control in the first half of Game 2. Both teams struggled to make shots, but Phoenix used nine offensive rebounds to outscore Denver 8-0 in second-chance points and lead 42-40 at halftime.

The Suns started to surge in the third quarter. The game was tied at 48 before Durant hit a pair of free throws, Booker and Paul made pull-up jumpers, Durant drained a 3-pointer and Paul hit an 18-footer to give Phoenix a 59-51 lead.

The Nuggets got within 59-56 on a three-point play from Michael Porter Jr., but the Suns stretched the lead to 68-61 on a Booker jump shot. Jokic scored Denver's last nine points of the period to get the Nuggets within 73-70 heading into the fourth.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Phoenix   Denver
Devin Booker 35 Scoring Nikola Jokic 39
Devin Booker 6 Assists Jamal Murray 8
Deandre Ayton 8 Rebounds Nikola Jokic 16
Devin Booker 3 Free Throws Made Bruce Brown 5
Kevin Durant 1 Steals Aaron Gordon 2
Kevin Durant 2 Blocks Jeff Green 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Phoenix 87 40.0 6-31 5-5 23 39 4 2 10
Denver 97 47.4 7-27 18-21 19 41 6 5 13
Upcoming Games
  • Denver will play their next game on the road against Phoenix. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .642 after a win and .655 after a loss.
  • Phoenix will play their next game at home against Denver. The Suns have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .486 after a loss.