Suns Coach Monty Williams Sounds Off After Game 1 Loss vs Nuggets

The Phoenix Suns again find themselves down 1-0 in a series.

Though they were able to string together four consecutive wins to blow past the Los Angeles Clippers, things are a bit different this time around - as the Denver Nuggets were the West's No. 1 seed heading into the postseason.

It was an ugly loss for the Suns in their 125-107 defeat to Denver, one where Suns coach Monty Williams believes Phoenix assisted in their own downfall.

“I thought we gave them their shots. There were a few times when we didn’t even get a hand up. Aaron Gordon, Jeff Green, those guys are good players, but you don’t expect those guys to shoot that way, but you’ve got to get a hand up," said Williams.

Gordon was one of three Denver players to score 20+ points on the night. The Nuggets out-rebounded Phoenix 49-38 and converted 15-37 (43.2%) from three-point land.

It was a back-and-forth game up until the mid stages of the second quarter, where the Nuggets eventually build a double-digit lead and never looked back, holding as much as a 23 point advantage in the win.

"I thought that they were just more physical, played with more force, especially in the second quarter, that’s when we kind of lost some momentum. The difference is in possessions, turnovers, and offensive rebounds. They just destroyed us tonight," Williams said.

"We have to regroup and do a much better job at playing with pace on offense. I thought we slowed down tonight for whatever reason. Their pressure or take the ball out of the net, we didn’t play with the pace that we are accustomed to, especially in the second quarter when we slipped.”

Game 2 is Monday, May 1 at 7:00 PM PST.