Game Recap: Suns Lose in Final Seconds to Nuggets
The Phoenix Suns were without some notable players in their third preseason game of the year, a 107-105 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Monday.
Cameron Payne, Cam Johnson. Landry Shamet and Dario Saric were not available.
Josh Okogie, who suffered a hamstring strain early in training camp, was available tonight and made his debut.
Jae Crowder was still unavailable as the Suns continue to work on a trade for the power forward.
As for Denver, the Nuggets would be without Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Aaron Gordon.
Phoenix Suns Starters
PG Chris Paul
SG Devin Booker
SF Mikal Bridges
PF Torrey Craig
C Deandre Ayton
First Quarter
Both teams got off to slow starts out of the gate, first points came from free throws at the 10:37 mark. Phoenix would see their first points of the night from a beautiful cross-court pass from Chris Paul to an open Mikal Bridges, who drained the three-pointer for an early 3-2 lead.
Denver started out just 1-for-8 from the field.
At the first timeout (5:48), the Suns led 15-13. Deandre Ayton's four points and four rebounds were a large reason for Phoenix's minor/early advantage.
Teams have somehow managed to shoot tremendously against the Suns from beyond the arc, and Denver finally caught some of that luck, starting 3-of-6 from downtown in the first quarter.
Phoenix would carry a 27-25 lead with 2:19 remaining in the first, as the pace of play was considerably quick compared to their win over the Lakers last week.
Bridges caught fire early from three-point land, sinking 3-of-4 shots with two assists and one rebound as well.
Phoenix would carry a 35-30 lead into the second quarter, led by a tremendous 7-of-11 shots made from downtown.
Second Quarter
Phoenix would uphold their lead through the early stages of the second quarter, utilizing the pick-and-roll to take advantage of Denver's defensive holes.
Jock Landale, who impressed early in his first taste of preseason games, struggled in his first stint on the court after starting 1-of-4 from the field.
Monty Williams would call a timeout after the Nuggets trimmed the Phoenix lead to 45-44 with 6:38 left in the half.
Out of the gates, Booker would turn the ball over to Bones Hyland, who would find Michael Porter for a bucket inside to put Denver back on top. Hyland would pace both teams in scoring with 11 points.
Both teams would trade lead changes, eventually deadlocking at 51-51 heading into the 2:39 timeout.
After a series of offensive rebounds, Ayton would finish an and-1 opportunity to push Phoenix ahead, 57-51.
The Suns were helped by excellent shooting at the free throw line, sinking 12-of-13 from the stripe in the second quarter.
Phoenix would head to the locker room up 59-54.
Three Suns would be in double digits for scoring: Booker (11), Ayton (15) and Bridges (12).
Third Quarter
Jsut two minutes into the second half, the Suns saw their biggest lead of the night (nine points) 63-54 after a breakaway dunk from Booker, which forced a Denver timeout.
The Nuggets would soon trim the Suns' lead down to 65-63, going on a nice little 9-2 run before a handful of turnovers would put Phoenix back up 76-70 with 4:34 remaining in the third.
Booker would eventually find his form, scoring nine points after halftime to the timeout.
Denver fell behind in the third quarter, mostly thanks to their inability to hit their three's. The Nuggets were 0-for-7 from downtown in the third quarter.
Phoenix would carry a 81-78 lead into the final period of play.
Fourth Quarter
The Nuggets would keep things close through the early stages of the fourth quarter, matching buckets with Phoenix. Down four starters already, Bruce Brown (5) and Zeke Nnaji (4) would tread lightly in foul trouble.
The Suns clinged on to a 89-88 lead with 7:22 remaining.
Denver climbed back into the lead after a Davon Reed shot from the parking lot.
With 3:27 left, the Nuggets extended their lead to 100-95 thanks to a 11-4 run.
However, the Suns would storm back on a quick 7-0 run in 71 seconds, primarily driven by Jock Landale. Landale hit his first three of the night before blocking a shot on the other end of the floor.
A few plays later, Landale would slam home an alley-oop to put Phoenix up 102-100 with exactly two minutes to play.
After Denver evened the score, Duane Washington Jr. would find nothing but the bottom of the net on an open three-point attempt to put the Suns up 105-102.
Duane Washington Jr. would take matters into his own hands, trying to draw contact on a layup but sending the ball over the backboard before air-balling a shot to take the lead.
Obtaining possession with the game tied at 105 a piece, Ish Smith laced a jumper with 8.4 seconds left to give Denver the lead.
Washington would miss a game-winning three as Phoenix would lose their second of three preseason games, 107-105.
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