Back to the wall after their Game 5 loss in Denver, the Suns had no choice but to win to stay alive in these Playoffs. But despite the urgency of the situation, Phoenix offered a pathetic performance not unlike that of Game 7 against Dallas last year. 100-125 for the Nuggets, on a trip to the Footprint Center tonight.
Game 6 statistics
A year ago, the Suns had taken the sauce against Dallas by losing 33 points in Game 7. Last night, the Phoenix public experienced a similar scenario, and the Cactus find themselves once again in holidays from the stage of the conference semi-finals.
Phoenix never gave the impression of being able to extend the series. The Nuggets started the game with the firm intention of ruining the hopes of the Suns, result the latter did not see the light of day. Nikola Jokic, in playmaker mode to start the match, quickly did his usual job against poor Jock Landale and Bismack Biyombo. Seeing this from the bench, Deandre Ayton – forfeited for the meeting (rib contusion) – was surely relieved not to play. Along with the Joker, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope proved once again that he was made for games at stake, planting 17 points at 6/7 shooting… in the first quarter while participating in the heavy defensive pressure exerted by the Nuggets. After a 17-0 inflicted on Phoenix in just three minutes in this first quarter, we quickly understood that it would be a long evening for the Suns (44-26 after twelve minutes).
A long evening, especially for Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Unplayable in both games of the series in Phoenix, the two superstars struggled this time. The first took time to enter the match, forcing his shots and chaining both failures and turnovers. Terrible. As for the second, he tried as usual to carry his own, but without finding his offensive rhythm. In fact, it’s Cam Payne – again holder in the absence of Chris Paul – who often carried the attack of the Suns (31 points). A sentence as sad as it is incredible for Phoenix.
Kevin Durant hitting the shot in his own basket.
Unbelievable 😳 pic.twitter.com/Y8kRz8jnNn
— Digits Hoops (🏀,📊) (@Digits3Hoops) May 12, 2023
As you can see, we witnessed a collective shipwreck on the Cactus side. As if the latter had nothing left in the tank after the first five games of the series. No more energy, limited means behind KD and Booker, a bankruptcy of the leaders, some weird choices from Monty Williams… that does not forgive against a team as solid as Denver. Very serious on both sides of the field, the Nuggets played their basketball cleanly while showing a nice aggressiveness in defense which suffocated Phoenix. The battle of turnovers was largely won by the Joker’s band in the first half, and overall everyone contributed. Alongside Jokic (32 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists) and KCP (21 points), Jamal Murray notably confirmed his good form at the moment (26 points) when he was initially announced uncertain (sick)
From the second quarter and for most of the rest of the evening, the score of the meeting flirted with the difference of 30 points, and whistles went down from the stands of the Footprint Center. Clearly, Suns fans expected something completely different from their team, especially after the humiliation of the 2022 Playoffs. Instead, they experienced the same nightmare.
Come on, see you next year.
2023-05-12 07:00:00
#Suns #Nuggets #Denver #humiliates #eliminates #Phoenix
