Nuggets dominate Suns in Game 1 thanks to big night from Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray

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Jamal Murray scored 34 points, hitting six of Denver's 16 3-pointers, and the Nuggets sprinted past the Phoenix Suns 125-107 on Saturday night in Game 1 of their second-round series.

Reigning back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had 24 points and 19 rebounds, while Aaron Gordon finished with 23 points for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. But this was the Murray Show, where he went 6 of 10 from 3-point land and frequently exhorted for more noise from the already raucous crowd.

Kevin Durant scored 29 points for the Suns, with Devin Booker adding 27 and Chris Paul 11. Booker averaged 37.2 points in a first-round series win over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Game 2 is Monday night in Denver.

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Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets smiles during Game One of the Western Conference Semi-Finals of the 2023 NBA Playoffs against the Phoenix Suns on April 29, 2023 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.  (Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images)

This is a different sort of playoff series than two years ago, when the Suns swept the Nuggets in the second round. Back then, Denver was without Murray after he tore his ACL.

Now healthy, Murray is flashing his 2020 form inside the NBA bubble that helped Denver advance to the Western Conference finals.

Murray had the play of the night when he stole a pass, split defenders Paul and Durant at top speed and knocked in a layup high off the glass. It brought the capacity crowd to its feet.

The dynamic point guard was far from done energizing the fans, hitting a 3-pointer with just under 7 minutes remaining. He implored them for more noise, even holding a hand to his ear.

Jamal Murray (27) of the Denver Nuggets celebrates with Kentavious Caldwell-Popes (5) signature three-pointer gesture after Caldwell-Pope hit back-to-back threes against the Phoenix Suns during the second quarter at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday, April 29, 2023. (AAron Ontiveroz/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

LEBRON JAMES DOESN'T SHAKE HANDS WITH GRIZZLIES AFTER ELIMINATING THEM FROM PLAYOFFS

Leading 106-95 with 7:40 remaining, the Nuggets went on a 14-0 run to put away the game. Denver led by as much as 25 and improved to 38-7 at home through the regular season and playoffs.

The difference was the 3-point line, where the Nuggets outscored the Suns by a 48-21 margin.

To stop Durant, the Nuggets used a multitude of defenders. He went 12 of 19 from the floor, but 1 of 3 on 3-pointers. Durant has 4,730 playoff points to move closer to passing Karl Malone (4,761) seventh place on the NBA’s postseason points leaderboard.

TIP-INS

Suns: Suns coach Monty Williams used his challenge early — with 55.4 seconds left in the first quarter — when Booker was called for a charge on a made a basket. It paid off as the call was overturned and Booker awarded a free throw, which he made. ... Deandre Ayton scored 14 points.

Nuggets: Nuggets coach Michael Malone called a timeout 32 seconds into the second half to settle his team down. ... Bruce Brown had 14 points.

Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets goes to the basket against Deandre Ayton #22 of the Phoenix Suns in the first quarter at Ball Arena on April 29, 2023 in Denver, Colorado.  (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

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PAUL PRAISE

As Paul approaches his 38th birthday next week, Malone said the one thing that hasn't changed over the years is Paul's elite competitiveness.

"He’ll be 55 years old, playing in a rec league back in North Carolina, and he’s going to be the same guy," Malone said. "The guy hates to lose, ultra-competitive and one of the greatest leaders I’ve ever been around. ... No matter what stage of his career, he still finds a way to impact winning at a high level."