![]() “If he doesn’t win it, I’m still gonna give him a hug and tell him he’s the MVP in my eyes.” Only a few guys in NBA history have done that,” Malone said. “If he wins, it, we will be celebrating and very happy for him because it’d be a huge accomplishment - three years in a row. Malone said that's because Jokic isn't motivated by winning more MVPs but by leading the Nuggets to their first NBA title. Jokic shined a night before he learns if he's edged Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo for his third consecutive NBA MVP award, recently renamed for Michael Jordan. And that fourth quarter, man, 14 points for that team, 28% from the field, 0-for-9 from 3?”ĭevin Booker led Phoenix with 35 points and Kevin Durant added 24 but they combined to miss a whopping 32 shots, including 14 from long range. I love a guy who's getting to the basket, imposing his will upon the other team. “Nikola's an MVP for a reason,” Malone said. “I love an aggressive Nikola Jokic,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said after Jokic knocked down 17 shots to offset an off-night by Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., who combined to make miss 17 of 22 shots. All rights reserved.Nikola Jokic's 39 points leads Nuggets past Suns 97-87ĭENVER - Nikola Jokic scored 39 points and pulled down 16 rebounds on the eve of the NBA MVP announcement to rally the Denver Nuggets to a 97-87 win over Phoenix on Monday night, giving them a 2-0 lead over the Suns in the Western Conference semifinals. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information / Your California Privacy Rights are applicable to you. ^ Back to Top ^ © 2023 ESPN Internet Ventures. Nuggets: Host Golden State on Sunday night. Suns: Hosted a 64th straight sellout crowd. Nuggets: Ish Smith shot just 1 of 10 from the field. “She's playing phenomenal basketball, her team is rallying around her, so it's going to be a good championship game.” ![]() “Incredible run that she's on,” Durant said. ![]() Instead, Durant and Paul were discussing how good Caitlin Clark's been for Iowa in the women's NCAA Tournament.Ĭlark scored 41 points on Friday night to lead the Hawkeyes over top-ranked South Carolina 77-73. Part of the Suns' postgame chatter in the locker room had nothing to do with beating the Nuggets. “We're trying to find that rhythm and trying to get wins at the same time,” Booker said. The Suns scored just 16 points in the fourth quarter on Friday, but managed to hang on for the victory. 4 spot in the Western Conference playoff race. The 34-year-old star has battled knee and ankle injuries over the past few months, but appears to be getting healthy as the Suns continue to cling to the No. We always want to play hard, get stops.”ĭurant shot 11 of 15 from the field in a dominant performance two days after a rough shooting night in his home debut against Minnesota. “We know we were missing guys but that doesn’t change the culture here. “It was our energy and our effort,” backup guard Peyton Watson said. The overmatched but feisty Nuggets got 22 points from the bench. Bruce Brown scored 16 points and Reggie Jackson had 13. Okogie had 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including four 3-pointers, and Chris Paul had 13 assists.Īaron Gordon had 26 points, nine rebounds and six assists to lead the Nuggets. Denver cut it to 97-93 in the final minute, but Josh Okogie nailed a corner 3 to seal it for the Suns. The Suns pushed their advantage to 27 midway through the third quarter, but the Nuggets pulled to 84-74 heading into the fourth quarter. Every reason just to roll over and play dead and get ready for Sunday at home. “You are down 27 points on the road, second half, second night in a row. “I am immensely proud,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. But they still showed fight after trailing 60-40 at halftime. The Nuggets rested a big chunk of their starting lineup, including reigning MVP Nikola Jokic, guards Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and forward Michael Porter Jr. We've just got to do a better job of sticking with it.” “We just let our foot off the gas a little and they were playing extremely hard. “I like how we played in the first half, but it was a bad second half for us," Durant said. Phoenix traded for the 13-time All-Star in a deadline deal back in February. The Suns improved to 5-0 with Durant in the lineup despite nearly blowing a 27-point lead. PHOENIX - The Phoenix Suns are starting to string together some wins now that Kevin Durant is healthy.Įven so, they're far from a well-oiled machine.ĭurant scored 30 points, Devin Booker added 27 and the Suns won their fourth straight game by beating the short-handed Denver Nuggets 100-93 on Friday night. Durant has 30 points, Suns beat Nuggets for 4th straight win
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |