In tonight’s early national television game, the Denver Nuggets took on the Phoenix Suns, but the Suns would not give Denver a walk-in victory. In the second half, Phoenix mounted a strong comeback, led by Devin Booker, to offset Nikola Jokic’s record triple double. Due to a dramatic fourth quarter, the outcome was decided in overtime after it had the potential to be a blowout. However, in overtime, the Nuggets prevailed once again, this time by a score of 149-141.
Despite not playing a ton of defense, the Nuggets were making their shots early. The three-pointers kept coming for Aaron Gordon; he simply couldn’t miss. Thanks to his shooting, the Nuggets were able to pull away, but the Suns never let up. Denver maintained their pressure and scored more goals, with Jokic stepping up to the plate each time. When their lead reached double digits, the Suns decided to take a break. Their comeback was short-lived, but they managed to get back inside single digits. But Denver got back on the board, again through Jokic, and soon had the lead back up again. Denver held a 37-28 lead as the first half came to a close.
As the second half got underway, Phoenix exerted considerably more control over Denver’s offensive. While Booker got rolling for the Suns, Jokic was unable to score for the Nuggets. Despite briefly cutting into Denver’s advantage, the Nuggets were able to retaliate. The margin increased to thirteen points once again thanks to numerous threes shot by Peyton Watson. Jokic then logged back in and began dimmering his colleagues so they could maintain their lead. The margin reached fifteen points before Kevin Durant began to mount a comeback; Durant briefly stemmed the bleeding, but Phoenix unable to make significant inroads into the lead. At halftime, Denver held a 68-57 lead.
Denver kept their lead early in the third quarter thanks to Jokic’s triple-double. The margin increased gradually, and Phoenix called a timeout after it reached 20 points, thanks to a dunk by Michael Porter Jr. Even though it took some time, Phoenix got back on track and went on an 8-0 run behind Booker. In response, Jamal Murray finally found his game for the Nuggets. The lead changed hands multiple times throughout the quarter, but Denver held Phoenix to no more than a field goal. Phoenix played well in the last minute of the quarter and had a chance to narrow the gap to single digits. As the third came to a close, they were unable to score and Denver advanced to the half with a 102-91 lead.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Phoenix re-instated the pressure. They came back down into single digits and began to chip away at Denver’s lead. After Booker continued to cannon shots, Malone substituted Jokic back into the game to halt the streak. Nikola cut Denver’s lead in half, but Phoenix refused to stop trying. They were down three points after another Phoenix surge by Booker. As the game entered the final stretch, the lead remained at two baskets. Around the three-minute mark, Jokic began to appear crippled and was pulling at his knee, which caused Denver, who were clinging to a lead, a lot bigger concern. Although he continued to play, the Suns came storming back to tie the game. They were ahead by one point entering the final minute, but Durant missed a shot because Porter Jr. played outstanding defense and snatched an offensive rebound for a putback. Denver took the lead and set up Phoenix for the game-winning shot when Christian Braun hit a three-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining. The score remained tied at 125 into overtime until Durant converted a wide-open shot from the corner.
To begin overtime, the Nuggets relied on their signature play, the Jokic-Murray two-man game, and scored seven points in a row. Phoenix appeared absolutely stunned and her energy levels were extremely low. A ten-point lead for Denver appeared to be enough with two minutes remaining. The first-30-20 game in NBA history was won by Joker, who continued to pass the ball down the field. Denver was able to pull themselves together in the final five minutes to secure a 149-141 victory.
