MANILA – Phoenix Suns were triumphant on Wednesday evening after securing a 123-98 victory against the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals at the Phoenix Suns Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
Devin Booker snatched the spotlight with his double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Chris Paul added a double-double of 17 points and 15 assists as the Suns cruised to a 2-0 edge in the best-of-seven series.
DeAndre Ayton had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, and Torrey Craig contributed 16, 11, and 10 markers, respectively, for Phoenix.
The Suns took a 20-14 advantage in the opening round behind consecutive hits from Crowder and Booker. The Nuggets then scraped the deficit to 21-22 via a three-pointer from Dario Saric.
Triple shots from Saric and Cameron Johnson stretched Phoenix’s edge to 35-25 in the second quarter, but Denver rallied to within 32-37. Late hits by Paul and Bridges allowed the Suns to dominate the second canto via a 52-42 gap.
The lead swelled further following three-pointers from Paul and Booker as it surged to its largest at 109-78 on three-point shots by Johnson and Bridges.
Most Valuable Player awardee Nikola Jokić tallied 24 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. Michael Porter Jr. and Paul Millsap got 11 markers each, while Will Barton scored 10 points for the Nuggets.
Meanwhile, Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert was hailed as the 2020-2021 NBA Season’s Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), besting Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons and Golden State Warriors’ Draymond Green.
This was the third time for the seven-footer Gobert to be adjudged as the league’s top defender, tying 76ers center Dwight Howard for the second most number of DPOY citations.
Gobert became the second Jazz player to receive an individual award this season aside from Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson, named Sixth Man of the Year.
BOX SCORE:
PHOENIX 123 – Booker 18, Paul 17, Bridges 16, Ayton 15, Crowder 11, Craig 10, Saric 8, Moore 7, Payne 7, Johnson 7, Kaminsky 5, Carter 2, Galloway 0, Smith 0.
DENVER 98 – Jokić 24, Porter 11, Millsap 11, Barton 10, Rivers 6, Gordon 6, Nnaji 6, Howard 6, Cancar 5, Green 4, Campazzo 3, McGee 3, Morris 3, Harrison 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
25-21, 52-42, 86-67, 123-98./PN
