NBA

Phoenix Suns at Denver Nuggets

· National Basketball Association
14-14, 5-8 Away
Final
90 - 117

16-11, 8-4 Home

Jokic scores 32 points and the Nuggets rout the Suns 117-90

Nikola Jokic shines with 32 points in dominant win over Suns

Michael Porter Jr. had 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting for Denver, which played without guard Jamal Murray (sprained left ankle). The Nuggets have won four of five and they handed Phoenix its third straight loss.

The Suns were missing guards Devin Booker (left groin) and Grayson Allen (concussion protocol). They struggled to find scoring outside of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, both of whom had 23 points.

Denver led by four at halftime and outscored Phoenix 45-28 in the third. Jokic, Porter and Russell Westbrook combined to shoot 13 of 17 from the field in the period, and the team was 18 of 28.

The Suns missed eight of their first 12 shots in the third and trailed by 24.

Takeaways Suns: Jusuf Nurkic has had success guarding Jokic but got into quick foul trouble against his former teammate. Nurkic had four fouls and played just 9:15 in the first half and was ineffective.

Nuggets: With Murray out, coach Michael Malone dipped deeper into his bench and gave little-used guard Jalen Pickett minutes. Pickett scored a career-high 11 points and played 22 minutes after logging a total of 41 in the first 26 games.

Key moment Phoenix scored eight straight points to cut into a 24-point deficit before Jokic was fouled on a layup. He missed the free throw, but the Nuggets grabbed the rebound and Hunter Tyson hit a corner 3-pointer to give Denver a 100-79 lead heading into the fourth.

Key stat The Nuggets are 4-0 on the second night of back-to-back games.

Up next The teams meet again on Christmas night in Phoenix.

Regular Season Series

DEN leads series 1-0

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 90 - 117
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 90 - 117
4th 16.0 Spencer Jones defensive rebound 90 - 117
4th 19.1 PJ Hall blocks Josh Okogie 's 7-foot two point shot 90 - 117
4th 32.0 Jalen Bridges defensive rebound 90 - 117

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/phx.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originPHX https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/den.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originDEN
33-83 FG 46-90
39.8 Field Goal % 51.1
13-33 3PT 16-41
39.4 Three Point % 39.0
11-15 FT 9-11
73.3 Free Throw % 81.8
39 Rebounds 46
9 Offensive Rebounds 11
30 Defensive Rebounds 35
23 Assists 35
6 Steals 6
5 Blocks 4
13 Turnovers 12
2 Team Turnovers 0
15 Total Turnovers 12
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
18 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 15
9 Fast Break Points 19
24 Points in Paint 50
13 Fouls 15
6 Largest Lead 28
Denver Nuggets Denver Nuggets Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Michael Porter Jr., SF Out Apr 1
Jamal Murray, PG Out Apr 1
Julian Strawther, G Out Mar 4
DaRon Holmes II, C Out Feb 23
Phoenix Suns Phoenix Suns Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Royce O'Neale, PF Out Apr 1
Bradley Beal, SG Out Apr 1
Kevin Durant, PF Out Mar 31

Game Information

Ball Arena

Location: Denver, CO
Attendance: 19,910 · Capacity:

2024-25 Pacific Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
LA Lakers 46 29 .613 - W2
Golden State 43 31 .581 2.5 W2
LA Clippers 43 32 .573 3 W1
Sacramento 36 39 .480 10 L2
Phoenix 35 41 .461 11.5 L4

2024-25 Northwest Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Oklahoma City 63 12 .840 - W10
Denver 47 28 .627 16 W2
Minnesota 43 32 .573 20 W2
Portland 33 43 .434 30.5 W1
Utah 16 60 .211 47.5 L6
Full Standings

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