Game ID: 22301059
Phoenix Suns @ Denver Nuggets
Wednesday, March 27, 2024 at 10:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 29 23 21 24 97PHX 29 30 24 21 104
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 3/19 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 14 since 2/14, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 3/09 after 4, 1 min since (11% of 11)
DEN availability going into 3/21 · 1 day's restOUT Jordan missed 15 since 2/14, returns tonight: 9 min (80% of 11)
OUT Strawther missed 2 since 3/17, out tonight
DEN availability going into 3/23 · 1 day's restOUT Strawther missed 3 since 3/17, out tonight
BACK Jordan back 3/21 after 15, 9 min since (80% of 11)
DEN availability going into 3/25 · 1 day's restOUT Strawther missed 4 since 3/17, returns tonight: 22 min (207% of 11)
BACK Jordan back 3/21 after 15, 14 min since (132% of 11)
DEN availability going into 3/27 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 2 since 3/23, out tonight
BACK Jordan back 3/21 after 15, 14 min since (131% of 11)
BACK Strawther back 3/25 after 4, 22 min since (207% of 11)
DEN availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 3 since 3/23, out tonight
BACK Jordan back 3/21 after 15, 14 min since (131% of 11)
BACK Strawther back 3/25 after 4, 13 min since (121% of 11)
DEN availability going into 3/31 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 4 since 3/23, out tonight
BACK Jordan back 3/21 after 15, 13 min since (122% of 11)
BACK Strawther back 3/25 after 4, 9 min since (83% of 11)
NEW Jackson 21 to 26 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/02 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 5 since 3/23, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 3/25 after 4, 7 min since (71% of 11)
NEW Jackson 21 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Braun 20 to 25 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 4/04 · 1 day's restOUT Murray missed 6 since 3/23, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 3/25 after 4, 7 min since (71% of 11)
NEW Jackson 21 to 28 min over the last 5
PHX availability going into 3/20 · 2 days' restOUT Okogie missed 8 since 3/03, out tonight
BACK Booker back 3/11 after 4, 38 min since (105% of 36)
BACK Gordon back 3/15 after 2, 24 min since (85% of 28)
PHX availability going into 3/21 · back-to-backOUT Okogie missed 9 since 3/03, out tonight
BACK Booker back 3/11 after 4, 37 min since (103% of 36)
BACK Gordon back 3/15 after 2, 22 min since (80% of 28)
PHX availability going into 3/23 · 1 day's restOUT Okogie missed 10 since 3/03, returns tonight: 10 min (62% of 16)
BACK Gordon back 3/15 after 2, 23 min since (81% of 28)
PHX availability going into 3/25 · 1 day's restBACK Gordon back 3/15 after 2, 23 min since (81% of 28)
BACK Okogie back 3/23 after 10, 10 min since (62% of 16)
PHX availability going into 3/27 · 1 day's restBACK Okogie back 3/23 after 10, 10 min since (62% of 16)
PHX availability going into 3/29 · 1 day's restOUT Okogie missed 2 since 3/25, returns tonight: 14 min (88% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/01 · 2 days' restBACK Okogie back 3/23 after 10, 12 min since (75% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/03 · 1 day's restBACK Okogie back 3/23 after 10, 12 min since (75% of 16)
PHX availability going into 4/05 · 1 day's restOUT Okogie missed 2 since 4/01, returns tonight: 4 min (26% of 16)
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 115 a night and allowing 107, shooting 50 percent and 42 from three, 23 free throws a game; Jokić at 28 and Murray at 21 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Murray (2 straight). One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 113, shooting 55 percent and 46 from three, 15 free throws a game; Booker at 28 and Durant at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the line, where Denver takes 23 free throws a game to Phoenix's 15 and the defense, Denver allowing 107 a night to Phoenix's 113. Call it Denver 116, Phoenix 112, Phoenix keeping it close.
3/19 @ MIN 115-112 — DEN notes
DEN won 115-112. DEN shot 52% (42 of 81) to MIN's 48%, 14 of 27 from three. DEN turned it over 17 times to MIN's 7, and MIN turned those into 10 steals. The glass went 49-37 for them. Jokić led with 35 (14 of 22, 3 of 4 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Porter Jr. added 26, Murray 18. The hinge was Q2, 35-27: a lead of 7 became 15, and the lead reached 18. Jackson was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
3/21 vs NYK 113-100 — DEN notes
DEN won 113-100. DEN shot 54% (45 of 84) to NYK's 48%, 6 of 20 from three. The glass went 42-31 for them. Porter Jr. led with 31 (13 of 16, 3 of 6 from three); Jokić added 30, Murray 23. The hinge was Q3, 27-20: a lead of 5 became 12. Jokić was the night's best plus/minus at +30.
3/23 @ POR 114-111 — DEN notes
DEN won 114-111. DEN shot 45% (41 of 91) to POR's 46%, 8 of 24 from three, and went to the line 33 times to POR's 17 — 24 points from the stripe to their 15. Jackson led with 23 (7 of 12, 1 of 4 from three, 8 of 11 at the line); Gordon added 22, Braun 17. The hinge was Q2, 31-25: a lead of 4 became 10, and the lead reached 15. Gillespie was the night's best plus/minus at +13.
3/25 vs MEM 128-103 — DEN notes
DEN won 128-103. DEN shot 53% (48 of 90) to MEM's 39%, 15 of 32 from three, and got to the line 18 times to MEM's 27. The glass went 50-40 for them. Jokić led with 29 (11 of 18, 6 of 7 at the line); Braun added 17, Jackson 15. The hinge was Q1, 39-24: from level to 15 ahead, and the lead reached 31. Holiday was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
3/27 vs PHX 97-104 — DEN notes
DEN lost 97-104. DEN shot 43% (38 of 88) to PHX's 47%, 10 of 40 from three. DEN turned it over 8 times to PHX's 16. The glass went 38-51 against them. Jokić led with 22 (9 of 16, 1 of 5 from three); A. Gordon added 18, Porter Jr. 18. Q4 was theirs, 24-21, the deficit cut from 10 to 7, but the other 3 periods went 83-73 against them. Braun's -19 in 15 minutes was the worst on the floor.
3/29 vs MIN — 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 106, shooting 49 percent and 37 from three, 21 free throws a game; Jokić at 29 and Porter Jr. at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Murray (3 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 102, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 17 free throws a game; Edwards at 22 and Reid at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Towns (10 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-5 a night and Minnesota minus-3 and the arc, Minnesota at 41 percent from three to Denver's 37. Call it Denver 110, Minnesota 109, Minnesota keeping it close.
3/31 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 106, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 22 free throws a game; Jokić at 28 and Porter Jr. at 17 a game. Without Murray (4 straight). One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 110, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 15 free throws a game; Allen at 16 and Eva. Mobley at 16 a game. Without Wade (11 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-4 a night and Cleveland minus-3 and the line, where Denver takes 22 free throws a game to Cleveland's 15. Call it Denver 112, Cleveland 107.
4/02 vs SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 106, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Jokić at 27 and Jackson at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. Without Murray (5 straight). One day's rest. San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 117, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 26 and Vassell at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 106 a night to San Antonio's 117 and the glass, where Denver has been plus-6 a night and San Antonio minus-1. Call it Denver 117, San Antonio 110.
4/04 @ LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; George at 24 and Leonard at 24 a game. Without Tucker (3 straight). One day's rest. Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 105, shooting 47 percent and 39 from three, 17 free throws a game; Jokić at 30 and Gordon at 16 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Murray (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Denver has been plus-4 a night and the Clippers minus-2 and the defense, Denver allowing 105 a night to the Clippers' 113. Call it Denver 112, the Clippers 111, the Clippers keeping it close.
3/20 vs PHI 115-102 — PHX notes
PHX won 115-102. PHX shot 50% (45 of 90) to PHI's 43%, 19 of 39 from three, and got to the line 8 times to PHI's 18. PHX turned it over 23 times to PHI's 9, and PHI turned those into 12 steals. The glass went 55-40 for them. Allen led with 32 (10 of 17, 9 of 15 from three); Durant added 22, Booker 18. The hinge was Q2, 39-24: PHX came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 13, and the lead reached 26. Allen was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
3/21 vs ATL 128-115 — PHX notes
PHX won 128-115. PHX shot 55% (41 of 74) to ATL's 44%, 22 of 41 from three. PHX turned it over 17 times to ATL's 8, and ATL turned those into 11 steals. Booker led with 30 (10 of 15, 6 of 8 from three); Gordon added 21, Durant 19. The hinge was Q2, 35-23: PHX came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 5. Bol was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
3/23 @ SAS 131-106 — PHX notes
PHX won 131-106. PHX shot 60% (56 of 94) to SAS's 47%, 11 of 24 from three, and got to the line 10 times to SAS's 21. PHX turned it over 8 times to SAS's 15. Booker led with 32 (14 of 24, 3 of 7 from three); Durant added 25, Beal 13. The hinge was Q3, 38-24: a lead of 18 became 32. Durant was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
3/25 @ SAS 102-104 — PHX notes
PHX lost 102-104. PHX shot 51% (42 of 83) to SAS's 44%, 10 of 28 from three. PHX turned it over 14 times to SAS's 7, and SAS turned those into 10 steals. Booker led with 36 (14 of 28, 3 of 10 from three, 5 of 7 at the line); Durant added 29, O'Neale 12. Q2 was theirs, 28-18, turning a 7-point deficit into a 3-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 86-74 against them.
3/27 @ DEN 104-97 — PHX notes
PHX won 104-97. PHX shot 47% (39 of 83) to DEN's 43%, 16 of 33 from three. PHX turned it over 16 times to DEN's 8, and DEN turned those into 9 steals. The glass went 51-38 for them. Durant led with 30 (12 of 20, 3 of 4 from three); Booker added 17, Allen 13. The hinge was Q2, 30-23: from level to 7 ahead, and the lead reached 15. Young was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
3/29 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 114, shooting 48 percent and 34 from three, 22 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 22 and Jal. Williams at 21 a game. One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 105, shooting 53 percent and 47 from three, 14 free throws a game; Booker at 27 and Durant at 25 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Okogie (2 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the arc, Phoenix at 47 percent from three to OKC's 34 and the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-8 a night and OKC minus-1. Call it OKC 115, Phoenix 114, Phoenix keeping it close.
4/01 @ NOP — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
New Orleans comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 102, shooting 45 percent and 37 from three, 24 free throws a game; McCollum at 25 and Williamson at 24 a game. Without Ingram (5 straight), Alvarado (2 straight). One day's rest. Phoenix comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 110, shooting 52 percent and 43 from three, 15 free throws a game; Booker at 26 and Durant at 26 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. 2 days' rest.
So: New Orleans wins, and the game turns on the line, where New Orleans takes 24 free throws a game to Phoenix's 15 and the arc, Phoenix at 43 percent from three to New Orleans's 37. Call it New Orleans 113, Phoenix 109, Phoenix keeping it close.
4/03 vs CLE — 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 109, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 15 free throws a game; Booker at 30 and Durant at 26 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 113, shooting 52 percent and 41 from three, 16 free throws a game; Allen at 19 and Eva. Mobley at 18 a game. Without Okoro (2 straight), Wade (13 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Phoenix wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-8 a night and Cleveland minus-2. Call it Phoenix 115, Cleveland 111, Cleveland keeping it close.
4/05 vs MIN — 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 111 a night and allowing 108, shooting 48 percent and 41 from three, 16 free throws a game; Booker at 32 and Durant at 27 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Okogie (2 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 98, shooting 51 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Edwards at 21 and Reid at 18 a game. Without Towns (14 straight). One day's rest.
So: Minnesota wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Phoenix has been plus-8 a night and Minnesota minus-2 and the defense, Minnesota allowing 98 a night to Phoenix's 108. Call it Minnesota 111, Phoenix 109, Phoenix keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXBB B. Beal
BB B. Bol
DB D. Booker
DE D. Eubanks
EG E. Gordon
GA G. Allen
KD K. Durant
RO R. O'Neale
TY T. Young
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
CG C. Gillespie
JH J. Holiday
JS J. Strawther
JO Jokic
KC K. Caldwell-Pope
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PW P. Watson
RJ R. Jackson
PHX/DEN 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
Kevin Durant scores 30 points to lead Suns to another win in Denver, 104-97
DENVER -- — Kevin Durant had 30 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks and the Phoenix Suns won in Denver for the second time this month, beating the defending champion Nuggets 104-97 on Wednesday night.
“I’m glad we didn’t let that San Antonio game bleed over to the next game,” Durant said in reference to the Suns' road loss Monday night to a Spurs team without rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama .
The Suns, with the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA, moved a half-game ahead of Sacramento for the seventh spot in the Western Conference as they try to move up to sixth to avoid a play-in game. Dallas is No. 6, a half-game ahead of Phoenix.
The Western Conference-leading Nuggets struggled without starting point guard Jamal Murray , who missed his third straight game with a sprained left ankle.
Nikola Jokic had 22 points, nine rebounds and 10 assists as he fought through lower back pain and left hip soreness.
The Nuggets, a half-game ahead of Oklahoma City and Minnesota, lost for just the third time in 18 games since the All-Star break, and two of those losses have come at home to the Suns, who prevailed 117-107 in overtime at Ball Arena on March 5.
Denver won six straight games at home after that, but Wednesday night were again victimized by terrific long-range shooting from the Suns, who made 16 of 33 shots from behind the arc. Denver was 10 of 40 on 3s.
Michael Porter Jr . and Aaron Gordon each added 18 points for Denver, but the Nuggets' bench shot just 5 of 19 and Denver was outrebounded 39-29.
“Not once did I think these guys are playing harder than us," Denver coach Michael Malone said. "For most teams, every game is an important game. We're trying to keep the No. 1 seed. You don't have to come off a bad loss at San Antonio (like the Suns did) to be in a desperate game.
“So, I think our guys definitely played hard. Could we have played better? Of course. And could we have made more shots? That definitely would have helped the outcome."
Jusuf Nurkic was out for Phoenix with a sprained right ankle after the center was hurt in the third quarter of the Suns' 104-102 loss at San Antonio on Monday night.
Bradley Beal left that game with a sprained right ring finger, but he started Wednesday night and sank a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter, setting the tone for another sizzling shooting performance by the Suns, who sank 15 3-pointers at Ball Arena in their last visit.
Thad Young's fadeaway 6-foot jumper over Jokic's outstretched arms gave the Suns a 59-52 halftime lead, and Durant scored half of Phoenix's points in a 10-0 run the Suns used to take control early in the third quarter.
The Nuggets pulled to 71-68, but they watched the Suns re-establish themselves via a turnaround jumper from Durant and back-to-back 3-pointers from Booker and Eric Gordon that restored Phoenix’s double-digit lead that was never really threatened again.
“I would say we didn’t have carryover," Suns coach Frank Vogel said. "It showed up as focus and intensity. We know what’s at stake. We know how many games we have left. We know what the schedule looks like.
“We still say we remain confident against anybody on the schedule, as illustrated by coming in and beating the champs in their building. So next game up. The competition is fierce. We’re going to have to repeat this and stay at this level to continue to win games.”