A monumental Devin Booker, with a double double of 49 points and ten assists, gave this Thursday to the phoenix suns a 140-130 victory in the visit to the Denver Nuggets and sealed the mathematical classification to the Playoffs as the first to advance from the Western Conference. They also secured the best mark of the season.
On the fifth anniversary of his 70 points endorsed by the Boston Celtics, Booker once again led the Phoenix Suns (60-14), in which Chris Paul returned with 17 points and 13 assists after more than a month out due to a fracture on a finger of one hand.
The Suns dominate the West with a nine-win lead over the Memphis Grizzlies, which, with eight games remaining in the regular season, will guarantee them home-court advantage in the playoffs.
The Arizona team confirmed its power with a victory on one of the most difficult courts in the NBA and fueled its candidacy for the title, after the Milwaukee Bucks denied it in the finals last year.
Booker finished with 49 points, ten assists and four rebounds, supported by an excellent Chris Paul who, despite being out for more than a month, picked up where he left off. In addition, Mikal Bridges contributed 22 points with eight of nine shots and three triples. To the Nuggets, again with Facundo Campazzo without leaving the substitute bench, The 28 points were not enough for them, with nine of ten shots, from Serbian Nikola Jokic, with six assists and six rebounds.
The match
If Chris Paul returned with good rhythm and seven assists in the first two quarters, Devin Booker was the Suns’ offensive leader, with 24 points in a first half that bordered on perfection.
The point guard had an 8-11 shot, with two triples and a 6-8 free throw, to which he added a rebound and three assists that allowed the Suns to maintain their balance against the Nuggets in which the team reigned.
Bones Hyland shone with 19 points, supported by ten from Will Barton and nine from Nikola Jokic, and the balance resisted at halftime, with a two-point lead for the Nuggets (68-66).
They tried to accelerate the Nuggets at the beginning of the third period and touched a nine-point lead at 101-92, but Booker continued to dominate on both ends of the floor and sealed the tie at 104-104 with his 19 points scored in the third quarter. He did it convincingly in shots, but also with some great defensive plays, among which a stolen ball from Jokic stands out to close the transition with a dunk.
The number 1 of the Suns lit up the game and launched a 14-4 run in the last period that sentenced the Nuggets (122-114), who kept losing avoidable balls in their possessions and protesting a lot to the referees calling for fouls. The reaction of the Nuggets was named after Jokic, who was still perfect in his shots and who also converted the only triple of his night, but it was already too late to contain the Suns who can already live the last days of competition as a preparation for the playoff battle.
-Thursday results in the NBA:
Toronto Raptors-Cleveland Cavaliers 117-104
Memphis Grizzlies-Indiana Pacers 133-103
Milwaukee Bucks-Washington Wizards 114-102
New Orleans Pelicans – Chicago Bulls 126-109
Denver Nuggets-Phoenix Suns 130-140
The positions in the NBA
Eastern Conference:
.1. Miami Heat (47-26)
.two. Milwaukee Bucks (46-27)
.3. Philadelphia 76ers (45-27)
.4. Boston Celtics (46-28)
.5. Bulls (42-31)
.6. Cleveland Cavaliers (41-32)
.7. Toronto Raptors (41-32)
.8. Brooklyn Nets (38-35)
.9. Charlotte Hornets (37-36)
10. Atlanta Hawks (36-27)
11. New York Knicks (31-42)
12. Washington Wizards (30-42)
13. Indiana Pacers (25-49)
14.Detroit Pistons (20-53)
15. Orlando Magic (20-54)
Western Conference:
.1. Phoenix Suns (60-14)
.two. Memphis Grizzlies (51-23)
.3. Golden State Warriors (48-25)
.4. Utah Jazz (45-28)
.5. Dallas Mavericks (45-28)
.6. Denver Nuggets (43-31)
.7. Minnesota Timberwolves (42-32)
.8. Los Angeles Clippers (36-38)
.9. New Orleans Pelicans (31-42)
10. Los Angeles Lakers (31-42)
11. San Antonio Spurs (29-44)
12. Portland Trail Blazers (27-45)
13. Sacramento Kings (26-48)
14. Oklahoma City Thunder (21-52)
15. Houston Rockets (18-55).
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From the bench, Campazzo watched the best team in the NBA parade