April 30, 2023 (Jack87 News) – The Western Conference semifinals of the NBA playoffs staged its first match between the Denver Nuggets and the Phoenix Suns. With the former winning against the latter 125-107 at home, ushering in a good start to the series, leading 1-0 in total.
The score of the four quarters (Suns first): BK8 32-31, 19-37, 30-26, 26-31.
Nuggets Player Stats: Jokic 24 points, 19 rebounds and 5 assists, Murray 34 points, 5 rebounds and 9 assists, Gordon 23 points and 6 rebounds, Porter 11 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, Pope 10 points and 2 rebounds, Brown 14 points and 2 Rebounds and 3 assists, Green 5 points and 4 rebounds.
Suns Player Stats: Durant 29 points and 14 rebounds with 7 turnovers, Booker 27 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists, Paul 11 points and 5 assists, Ayton 14 points and 7 rebounds, Okogie 2 points and 2 rebounds, Craig 3 points, Langdale 7 points and 2 rebounds, Shamet 3 points, Damien Lee 3 points, Payne 5 points and 3 rebounds.
The two teams were full of firepower at the beginning, and drew 4 times in the first 6 minutes. Murray scored 10 of the Nuggets’ first 15 points, and then it was Jokic’s turn to attack. He grabbed an offensive rebound inside and ended his personal scoring drought. Bet99 Durant single-jumped Murray 2+1, he scored 5 points in a row, Durant played 7 of 9 shots in the first quarter, scored 15 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks. Although the Suns suppressed the Nuggets, all the team’s points were contributed by the “Big Four” Durant, Booker, Paul and Ayton. In the first quarter, the Suns led the Nuggets by 1 point 32-31.
In the second quarter, Shamet hit a 3-pointer, who was the first player of the Suns to score besides the Big Four. Porter scored 7 points in a row, Gordon dunked inside, Green hit 3 points, and the Nuggets successfully played a wave of 14-5 attack to overtake the score. Ayton hit an inside hook, and the Suns replaced Durant again, but the problem of the Suns’ role players not scoring well has not been resolved. The team has not scored in the past 3 minutes. Paul just made a mid-range shot to stop the bleeding, but Pope and Gordon hit 3 consecutive three-pointers to extend the lead to more than 10 points. At halftime, the Nuggets led the Suns by 17 points 68-51.
In the third quarter, Paul contributed 4 points in a row. He led the Suns to a 10-4 spurt at the beginning. Okogie was the second player of the Suns to score besides the Big 4. Jokic picked the basket after receiving an assist from Murray. Gordon and Murray scored 3-pointers in a row. Durant continued to play singles and started the “Reaper” mode to prevent the Nuggets from further expanding the point difference. In the next 3 minutes, the Suns after entering the rotation fell into an offensive dilemma again. The team only scored 4 points in 3 minutes. After Jokic hit 3 points, the Nuggets re-expanded the point difference to more than 15 points. After three quarters, the Nuggets led 94-81 by 13 points.
In the last quarter, Booker scored 2+1 inside, and the Nuggets’ substitute Brown scored all two shots. Damian Lee made a three-pointer from a distance, and Langdale also made an inside hook, but Gordon and Murray’s shooting percentages remained above 50% 22Bet. The two scored consecutively to ensure the Nuggets’ lead of more than 10 points. After that, Booker and Murray started a battle. Booker hit the inside with a three-pointer, while Murray answered with two strong three-pointers to stop the Suns. At the same time, his scoring broke through the 30-point mark. With Murray assisting Jokic for an air cut layup, the Nuggets led 114-95 by 19 points. Durant made his seventh mistake, and Brown dunked twice to expand the point difference to more than 20 points, which also made the next 5 minutes of the game lose suspense. In the end, the Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 125-107, ushering in a good start to the series, leading 1-0 overall.
