By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Denver Nuggets are off to a rousing start in the NBA Playoffs semifinal round after dominating the Phoenix Suns, 125-107, to take a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference last April 30, 2023.
Jamal Murray was electric and brought the house down with his shooting clinic after top-scoring the Nuggets with 34 points and added nine assists to his stat line.
Despite an early lead from the Suns after the first 12 minutes of action, Murray helped Denver take full control of the game when he went beast mode offensively especially in the third quarter.
The crafty scoring machine proved his doubters again after dropping 20 of his 34 markers in the second half built from an impressive 13/24 shooting from the field including six drained three-pointers out of 10 total attempts.
Kevin Durant and the Suns were looking comfortable in the first half after having an easy time scoring against Denver’s perimeter defense but once Murray flipped the switch, the Nuggets looked like a different team that also opened up opportunities for his teammates.
When Denver’s superstar Nikola Jokic took a rest in the second quarter and Phoenix’s head coach Monty Williams inserted his stars in hopes of blitzing their way inside, the duo of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Aaron Gordon operated for the Nuggets and helped them build a crucial 13-2 run.
Phoenix came back and punched hard after the sequence but the two-man game between Murray and Jokic proved to be the difference in the game as the former Most Valuable Player (MVP) had 24 points, 19 rebounds, and five dimes.
The Suns never recovered in the second half and failed to trim the lead to five points that pushed coach Williams to put out his stars early in the final canto.
On the other hand, Phoenix was led by Durant who produced 29 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks while Devin Booker had 27 markers.
The Suns will look to equalize the series at 1-1 when they meet with Denver again in Game 2 on May 2, 2023.
