Game ID: 22300893
Phoenix Suns @ Denver Nuggets
Tuesday, March 5, 2024 at 10:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT1 Final
DEN 32 18 31 21 5 107PHX 28 37 25 12 15 117
DEN vs PHX ScoutingDEN vs PHX Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
DEN availability going into 2/25 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 3 since 2/14, out tonight
BACK Caldwell-Pope back 2/12 after 2, 19 min since (60% of 32)
BACK Strawther back 2/09 after 16, 8 min since (79% of 11)
NEW Holiday 15 to 23 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 2/28 · 2 days' restOUT Jordan missed 4 since 2/14, out tonight
BACK Caldwell-Pope back 2/12 after 2, 23 min since (72% of 32)
DEN availability going into 2/29 · back-to-backOUT Jordan missed 5 since 2/14, out tonight
DEN availability going into 3/02 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 6 since 2/14, out tonight
DEN availability going into 3/05 · 2 days' restOUT Jordan missed 7 since 2/14, out tonight
OUT Strawther missed 2 since 2/29, out tonight
DEN availability going into 3/07 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 8 since 2/14, out tonight
OUT Strawther missed 3 since 2/29, out tonight
DEN availability going into 3/09 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 9 since 2/14, out tonight
OUT Strawther missed 4 since 2/29, returns tonight: 2 min (16% of 11)
DEN availability going into 3/11 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 10 since 2/14, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 3/09 after 4, 2 min since (16% of 11)
DEN availability going into 3/13 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 11 since 2/14, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 3/09 after 4, 2 min since (16% of 11)
NEW Murray 33 to 39 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 2/25 · 1 day's restOUT Beal missed 3 since 2/14, out tonight
PHX availability going into 2/29 · 3 days' restOUT Beal missed 4 since 2/14, out tonight
NEW Bol 11 to 17 min over the last 4
PHX availability going into 3/02 · 1 day's restOUT Beal missed 5 since 2/14, returns tonight: 20 min (60% of 34)
OUT Gordon missed 2 since 2/25, out tonight
NEW Bol 11 to 22 min over the last 4
PHX availability going into 3/03 · back-to-backOUT Gordon missed 3 since 2/25, returns tonight: 30 min (109% of 28)
BACK Beal back 3/02 after 5, 20 min since (60% of 34)
NEW Bol 11 to 22 min over the last 4
PHX availability going into 3/05 · 1 day's restBACK Beal back 3/02 after 5, 27 min since (80% of 34)
BACK Gordon back 3/03 after 3, 30 min since (109% of 28)
NEW O'Neale 25 to 30 min over the last 5
NEW Bol 11 to 19 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 3/07 · 1 day's restOUT Booker missed 2 since 3/03, out tonight
OUT Okogie missed 2 since 3/03, out tonight
BACK Beal back 3/02 after 5, 30 min since (89% of 34)
BACK Gordon back 3/03 after 3, 26 min since (93% of 28)
NEW O'Neale 25 to 35 min over the last 5
NEW Bol 11 to 16 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 3/09 · 1 day's restOUT Booker missed 3 since 3/03, out tonight
OUT Okogie missed 3 since 3/03, out tonight
BACK Beal back 3/02 after 5, 31 min since (92% of 34)
BACK Gordon back 3/03 after 3, 25 min since (89% of 28)
NEW O'Neale 25 to 34 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 3/11 · 1 day's restOUT Booker missed 4 since 3/03, returns tonight: 38 min (105% of 36)
OUT Okogie missed 4 since 3/03, out tonight
BACK Beal back 3/02 after 5, 32 min since (96% of 34)
BACK Gordon back 3/03 after 3, 26 min since (93% of 28)
NEW O'Neale 25 to 34 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 3/14 · 2 days' restOUT Okogie missed 5 since 3/03, out tonight
BACK Booker back 3/11 after 4, 38 min since (105% of 36)
BACK Gordon back 3/03 after 3, 26 min since (93% of 28)
NEW O'Neale 25 to 34 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 104, shooting 53 percent and 39 from three, 17 free throws a game; Jokić at 26 and Porter Jr. at 22 a game. That is 5 straight wins. 2 days' rest. Phoenix comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 114, shooting 43 percent and 34 from three, 28 free throws a game; Booker at 26 and Durant at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the line, where Phoenix takes 28 free throws a game to Denver's 17 and the defense, Denver allowing 104 a night to Phoenix's 114. Call it Denver 116, Phoenix 110.
2/25 @ GSW 119-103 — DEN notes
DEN won 119-103. DEN shot 49% (43 of 88) to GSW's 43%, 11 of 32 from three. DEN turned it over 10 times to GSW's 17. Jokić led with 32 (13 of 24, 2 of 6 from three); Murray added 27, Gordon 17. The hinge was Q4, 28-16: a lead of 4 became 16. Gordon was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
2/28 vs SAC 117-96 — DEN notes
DEN won 117-96. DEN shot 53% (46 of 86) to SAC's 40%, 15 of 35 from three. J. Murray led with 32 (13 of 15, 5 of 6 from three); Gordon added 17, Caldwell-Pope 16. The hinge was Q3, 35-17: a lead of 10 became 28, and the lead reached 32. Gordon was the night's best plus/minus at +40.
2/29 vs MIA 103-97 — DEN notes
DEN won 103-97. DEN shot 43% (36 of 84) to MIA's 42%, 12 of 34 from three. Porter Jr. led with 30 (12 of 23, 4 of 10 from three); Jokić added 18, Caldwell-Pope 18. The hinge was Q1, 36-20: from level to 16 ahead. Jokić was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
3/02 @ LAL 124-114 — DEN notes
DEN won 124-114. DEN shot 59% (54 of 92) to LAL's 53%, 11 of 26 from three. The glass went 47-31 for them. Jokić led with 35 (16 of 25, 1 of 5 from three); Porter Jr. added 25, Murray 24. The hinge was Q4, 35-25: from level to 10 ahead. DEN trailed 58-66 at the half and won the second half 66-48. Jokić was the night's best plus/minus at +16.
3/05 vs PHX 107-117 — DEN notes
DEN lost 107-117 in 1 overtime. DEN shot 43% (41 of 96) to PHX's 44%, 15 of 40 from three, and got to the line 14 times to PHX's 22. DEN turned it over 14 times to PHX's 9, and PHX turned those into 9 steals. Murray led with 28 (12 of 25, 2 of 6 from three); Jokić added 25, Porter Jr. 20. Q4 was theirs, 21-12, the deficit cut from 9 to 0, but the other 4 periods went 105-86 against them. A. Gordon's -22 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/07 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 105, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 16 free throws a game; Jokić at 25 and Murray at 23 a game. One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 101, shooting 52 percent and 43 from three, 17 free throws a game; Brown at 27 and Tatum at 27 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-9 a night and Denver plus-3 and the arc, Boston at 43 percent from three to Denver's 38. Call it Boston 114, Denver 111, Denver keeping it close.
3/09 vs UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 107, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 15 free throws a game; Jokić at 25 and Murray at 22 a game. One day's rest. Utah comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 120, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Sexton at 22 and Markkanen at 18 a game. Without Markkanen (2 straight), Kessler (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 107 a night to Utah's 120 and the line, where Utah takes 21 free throws a game to Denver's 15. Call it Denver 118, Utah 111.
3/11 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 112, shooting 52 percent and 40 from three, 16 free throws a game; Jokić at 27 and Murray at 23 a game. One day's rest. Toronto comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 123, shooting 44 percent and 33 from three, 18 free throws a game; Barrett at 21 and Quickley at 20 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. Without Brown (4 straight), Ramsey (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-1 a night and Toronto minus-10 and the defense, Denver allowing 112 a night to Toronto's 123. Call it Denver 120, Toronto 110, Denver by 10.
3/13 @ MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 112, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Butler III at 24 and Rozier at 18 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Herro (8 straight), Richardson (11 straight), Wright (5 straight). 2 days' rest. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 116, shooting 54 percent and 40 from three, 15 free throws a game; Jokić at 31 and Murray at 27 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: Miami wins, in a game with no one edge to lean on. Call it Miami 114, Denver 113, Denver keeping it close.
2/25 vs LAL 123-113 — PHX notes
PHX won 123-113. PHX shot 47% (44 of 93) to LAL's 52%, 17 of 40 from three, and went to the line 19 times to LAL's 8 — 18 points from the stripe to their 4. The glass went 51-34 for them. Allen led with 24 (8 of 17, 6 of 12 from three); Durant added 22, Booker 21. The hinge was Q1, 45-28: from level to 17 ahead, and the lead reached 20. O'Neale was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
2/29 vs HOU 110-105 — PHX notes
PHX won 110-105. PHX shot 40% (36 of 89) to HOU's 33%, 13 of 37 from three, and went to the line 37 times to HOU's 31 — 25 points from the stripe to their 28. Booker led with 35 (13 of 27, 6 of 11 from three); Durant added 24, Nurkić 16. The hinge was Q1, 33-17: from level to 16 ahead, and the lead reached 21. Bol was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
3/02 vs HOU 109-118 — PHX notes
PHX lost 109-118. PHX shot 46% (39 of 85) to HOU's 44%, 9 of 29 from three. PHX turned it over 19 times to HOU's 12, and HOU turned those into 13 steals. Durant led with 30 (12 of 19, 1 of 4 from three, 5 of 8 at the line); Booker added 24, O'Neale 20. Q2 was theirs, 25-16, the deficit cut from 19 to 10, but the other 3 periods went 102-84 against them. Allen's -19 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/03 vs OKC 110-118 — PHX notes
PHX lost 110-118. PHX shot 44% (40 of 91) to OKC's 48%, 14 of 39 from three. PHX turned it over 21 times to OKC's 5, and OKC turned those into 16 steals. Beal led with 31 (10 of 14, 3 of 5 from three, 8 of 10 at the line); Durant added 20, Gordon 15. Q3 was theirs, 33-23, the deficit cut from 14 to 4, but the other 3 periods went 95-77 against them. They led by as many as 13.
3/05 @ DEN 117-107 — PHX notes
PHX won 117-107 in 1 overtime. PHX shot 44% (42 of 96) to DEN's 43%, 15 of 34 from three, and went to the line 22 times to DEN's 14 — 18 points from the stripe to their 10. PHX turned it over 9 times to DEN's 14. Durant led with 35 (14 of 34, 3 of 8 from three); Allen added 28, Beal 16. The hinge was Q2, 37-18: PHX came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 15, and the lead reached 22. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
3/07 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 112, shooting 44 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Booker at 27 and Durant at 26 a game. Without Booker (2 straight), Okogie (2 straight). One day's rest. Toronto comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 125, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 21 free throws a game; Barrett at 22 and Quickley at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Brown (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-4 a night and Toronto minus-6 and the defense, Phoenix allowing 112 a night to Toronto's 125. Call it Phoenix 120, Toronto 112.
3/09 vs BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 112, shooting 45 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; Durant at 29 and Beal at 18 a game. Without Booker (3 straight), Okogie (3 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 103, shooting 50 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brown at 29 and Tatum at 26 a game. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-10 a night and Phoenix plus-3 and the turnovers, Phoenix giving it away 15 times a game to Boston's 11. Call it Boston 116, Phoenix 112, Phoenix keeping it close.
3/11 @ CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 109, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 18 free throws a game; Allen at 21 and Garland at 20 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Mitchell (6 straight), Strus (4 straight), Eva. Mobley (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Phoenix comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 115, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Durant at 33 and Beal at 20 a game. Without Booker (4 straight), Okogie (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Cleveland wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-4 a night and Cleveland minus-5 and the turnovers, Phoenix giving it away 15 times a game to Cleveland's 11. Call it Cleveland 113, Phoenix 112, Phoenix keeping it close.
3/14 @ BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 107, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 16 free throws a game; Brown at 29 and Tatum at 27 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Porziņģis (3 straight). One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 19 free throws a game; Durant at 34 and Beal at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Okogie (5 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Phoenix giving it away 14 times a game to Boston's 10 and the defense, Boston allowing 107 a night to Phoenix's 113. Call it Boston 117, Phoenix 111.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
JM J. Murray
JO Jokic
KC K. Caldwell-Pope
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RJ R. Jackson
ZN Z. Nnaji
PHXBB B. Beal
BB B. Bol
DE D. Eubanks
DR D. Roddy
EG E. Gordon
GA G. Allen
JN J. Nurkić
KD K. Durant
NU Nurkic
RO R. O'Neale
SL S. Lee
DEN/PHX the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Durant erupts in OT, leads Suns to 117-107 win over Nuggets after blowing 22-point lead
DENVER -- — Kevin Durant was off the mark with his jumper — until it mattered most.
Durant scored 35 points, including eight in overtime, and the short-handed Phoenix Suns rebounded after blowing a 22-point lead in the second half to beat the Denver Nuggets 117-107 on Tuesday night.
After scoring just 12 points in the fourth quarter, the Suns erupted for 15 in OT, led by Durant and Bradley Beal , who had five of his 16 in the extra period.
Durant's biggest shot of the night was a game-tying, step-back 3-pointer with 26.6 seconds remaining. He was 3 of his previous 17 from the floor leading into that shot. But there was no doubt he was taking it.
“I knew coming across half-court, ‘This is do-or-die right here, I've got make this shot or it might be game,’” said Durant, who was 14 of 34 from the floor. "My fundamentals were right on that one.
"It felt good leaving my hands. ... I just love hearing the crowd go silent. That’s always a good feeling on the road.”
Grayson Allen hit eight 3-pointers and scored 28 points to help the Suns snap a two-game slide.
Trailing 77-55 early in the third, Denver went on a furious comeback to turn what was looking like a rout into a thriller. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining, followed by a Jamal Murray basket to make it 102-99.
Durant tied it and set the stage for Nikola Jokic , whose last-second floater missed to send the game into overtime.
“I’ve seen (Jokic) make that 95 out of 100 times,” Murray said. “We all thought it was going in.”
Murray finished with 28 points while Jokic added 25 points, 16 rebounds and five assists as the Nuggets had their six-game winning streak halted.
“Such a winnable game. That may be one of the worst losses we’ve had,” Murray said. “It’s tough. It’s just tough.”
Allen hit eight straight 3-pointers, but missed his final four once the Nuggets put Caldwell-Pope on him as a primary defender.
“They all felt good leaving my hands," Allen said. "Saw a few go in early and got more aggressive with the ones I was taking and they kept going in.”
Jusuf Nurkic fouled out with 2:28 remaining as he tried to contain Jokic. Nurkic had 12 rebounds a game after grabbing a franchise-record 31 boards against Oklahoma City.
The Suns were missing Devin Booker (sprained ankle), Nassir Little (knee), Damion Lee (meniscus surgery) and Josh Okogie (abdominal strain).
It was a big win for the Suns, who are in the sixth spot and teetering close to being in the play-in tournament.
“You look at the totality of the season, obviously the end result is always important, playing in the playoffs, trying to win a championship, those are important,” Durant said. "But you celebrate little moments.”
Trailing 43-36 in the second quarter, the Suns went on a 29-5 run to open a comfortable cushion before halftime. The lead ballooned to 22 points early in the third before Denver's surge.
"That was the message at halftime — we’re not playing hard enough,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said, whose team was outscored 37-18 in the second quarter. “I think we had a couple of guys that kind of showed up tonight in chill mode.”
Jokic added to his resume of making buzzer-beating heaves when he swished a turnaround, 26-footer to end the first quarter. His shot — nicknamed the “Sombor Shuffle” — energized the crowd and capped a quarter where the teams were a combined 11 of 17 from 3-point range.
This was the second matchup between the Nuggets and Suns this season, but nothing like Denver's 119-111 win on Dec. 1 in Phoenix. In that contest, the Suns were without Booker, Damion Lee and Beal, while the Nuggets were missing Murray.
“This is one of those where tomorrow we all feel better. Tomorrow we have better clarity and a lot more positive energy," said Murray, whose team shot 42.7% from the field. “But today it’s tough. It wasn’t just one person who didn’t shoot well, it was damn near everybody.”