DENVER | Nikola Jokic scored 13 of his 32 factors in a decisive third quarter, and the Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 117-90 on Monday night time.
Michael Porter Jr. had 24 factors on 10-of-12 capturing for Denver, which performed with out guard Jamal Murray (sprained left ankle). The Nuggets received 4 of 5 video games and handed Phoenix its third straight loss.
The Suns have been lacking guards Devin Booker (left groin) and Grayson Allen (concussion protocol). They struggled to seek out scoring exterior of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, who each had 23 factors.
Denver led by 4 at halftime and outscored Phoenix 45-28 within the third. Jokic, Porter and Russell Westbrook mixed to shoot 13 of 17 from the sphere within the interval, and the group was 18 of 28.
The Suns missed eight of their first 12 pictures within the third and trailed by 24.
Takeaways
Suns: Jusuf Nurkic managed to protect Jokic however shortly had foul hassle towards his former teammate. Nurkic dedicated 4 fouls and performed solely 9:15 within the first half and was ineffective.
Nuggets: With Murray out, coach Michael Malone dove deeper into his bench and gave minutes to little-used guard Jalen Pickett. Pickett scored a career-high 11 factors and performed 22 minutes after scoring a complete of 41 factors within the first 26 video games.
Key second
Phoenix scored eight straight factors to chop a 24-point deficit earlier than Jokic was fouled on a layup. He missed the free throw, however the Nuggets grabbed the rebound and Hunter Tyson hit a nook 3-pointer to provide Denver a 100-79 lead heading into the fourth.
Key statistic
The Nuggets are 4-0 on the second night time of back-to-back video games.
To be continued
The groups meet on Christmas Eve in Phoenix.
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