PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns heard plenty of outside noise following their disappointing loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Monday.
Up next? The defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets are hosting them in the Mile High City.
The Suns needed an answer – Wednesday night provided just that.
On the road, Phoenix walked away victorious in 104-97 fashion, emerging to 43-30 on the year and climbing up the Western Conference standings with just nine games remaining.
Tonight marked the ninth consecutive game with Phoenix’s star trio in Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal playing together on the court, the second-longest streak of the season. Beal was questionable with a sprained finger but was made available after being a game-time decision.
The Suns and Nuggets were knotted at 29-29 after one quarter of play with the three-ball being a heavy emphasis for both sides. Phoenix made their first four three-pointers while Denver (who entered tonight at the bottom of the league in three-point attempts) shot 12 times from downtown.
Booker (10), Beal (9) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (9) all got off to hot starts scoring. With Jusuf Nurkic out with an ankle injury, Drew Eubanks started in his place with Thaddeus Young earning some early minutes, his sixth appearance for the team.
The Suns hit their seventh three-pointer to emerge ahead by eight in the middle of the second, forcing Nuggets coach Mike Malone to call a timeout with Nikola Jokic on the bench resting. Soon after, Bol Bol hit an open three to push Phoenix’s lead to double digits for the first time all night, capping a 13-2 run for the Suns.
It wouldn’t take long for Denver to find their groove with Durant on the bench, erasing Phoenix’s lead to just three in the final stages of the second quarter. After battling until the buzzer, it was the Suns who emerged with a 59-52 lead at the break thanks to a Young put-back jumper as time expired.
Durant finished the half with four blocks, marking the seventh time ever that the future Hall of Fame player registered three blocks or more in a game. He finished the first half with 14 points and seven boards to pair.
Reggie Jackson – who entered the starting lineup for Jamal Murray – scored his first bucket of the night to begin the third quarter festivities. The Suns would respond with a 10-0 run, gaining their largest lead of the night at 15 despite having nine turnovers up to that point.
After a 12-0 Nuggets run dwindled their advantage, the Suns returned to pushing three’s out of transition to again build a double-digit lead with under three minutes remaining. Phoenix carried an 83-73 lead into the final quarter of play.
With Jokic on the bench to start the fourth, the Suns got a quick burst of buckets before Denver quickly inserted the likely MVP frontrunner back into action with just over nine minutes left.
Two minutes passed by and the Suns – known for blowing late leads – had their advantage cut to eight. The two sides exchanged blows before a Durant three with just minutes remaining ultimately sealed Phoenix’s victory (despite the Nuggets trimming the Suns’ lead to nine with under 40 seconds left), giving Denver just their third loss since the All-Star break.
The Suns are back in action on Friday against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
