Phoenix Suns @ Denver Nuggets
Monday, December 23, 2024 at 10:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO | Game ID: 22400402
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 27 28 45 17 117PHX 26 25 28 11 90
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Jokic scores 32 points and the Nuggets rout the Suns 117-90
DENVER -- — Nikola Jokic scored 13 of his 32 points in a decisive third quarter, and the Denver Nuggets routed the scuffling Phoenix Suns 117-90 on Monday night.
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.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
PHXBB B. Beal
DL D. Lee
JB J. Bridges
JN J. Nurkić
JO J. Okogie
KD K. Durant
MM M. Morris
MP M. Plumlee
NU Nurkic
OI O. Ighodaro
RD R. Dunn
RO R. O'Neale
TJ T. Jones
DENAG A. Gordon
CB C. Braun
DJ D. Jordan
HT H. Tyson
JP J. Pickett
JS J. Strawther
JO Jokic
MP M. Porter Jr.
NJ N. Jokić
PH P. Hall
PW P. Watson
RW R. Westbrook
SJ S. Jones
TA T. Alexander
ZN Z. Nnaji
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
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