The Denver Nuggets don’t seem to be affected by the Phoenix Suns’ star power so far in the Western Conference semi-finals. The Nuggets beat the Suns 97-87 in Game 2 on Monday night and now hold a 2-0 lead in the series.
The game was much more closely contested than the result indicates. The Suns actually entered the final period with a three-point lead but ended up falling apart when it mattered the most, being unable to find an answer for the reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
Jokic delivered a huge performance for the Nuggets, finishing the night with 39 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists. And Denver needed all of it, considering that his teammates struggled to get going and only three had double digits in scoring.
“Man, no hesitation from him,” said Jamal Murray, who was 3-of-15 from the floor and missed all of his nine three-point attempts. “Just dominating down low and from 3, both ways. Staying aggressive all game, uplifting us during timeouts, just full belief in us the whole time while he’s taking over and picking up everybody’s slack.”
With two wins on their home court, the Nuggets now seem like they are in control of the series. The Suns showed the same growing pains that hampered them in the first round against the LA Clippers and will have to dig deep in order to turn things around.
The series resumes on Friday with Game 3 in Phoenix’s Footprint Center.
