Nuggets get right with strong showing against Suns

Minus each team’s star guard from Kentucky, the Denver Nuggets walloped the Phoenix Suns on Monday 117-90.

Riding one of the best quarters of the year, the Nuggets soared past the Suns in the third—outscoring them by 17. Nikola Jokic led Denver with 13 points in that period, as Michael Porter Jr. and Russell Westbrook each cashed three makes during those 12 minutes as well. It was that trio that paced the Nuggets all evening with the big man tallying 32 points, seven assists and two rebounds. Porter responded well by scoring 24 points after struggling and getting pulled on Sunday, in the midst of many trade rumors. Westbrook slid back into the starting lineup going for 11 points and seven helpers, in spell of Jamal Murray, who was out with an ankle roll, which he suffered on Sunday that didn’t respond well to treatment. It also prompted Jalen Pickett to play, who answered with his best game as a pro by scoring 11 points and tossing eight assists.

“Our guys stepped up with no Jamal, everyone, even our bench,” Michael Malone said. “Jalen Pickett I want to give him a shout-out. I thought he was the defensive player of the game. He’s a different player than he was last year. He looks so much more comfortable, so much more confident. And I trust him out there, and I’m proud of him for just kind of staying with it, and I’m happy for him.”

Denver was able to connect on threes, hitting 16 from deep. The team also got the better of the board count at 46-39. Those are two areas the Nuggets have struggled with recently and a reason for their middling record, now improved to 16-11. The team has won five of its last six games, including games in connective evenings. It was also the second time in 10 days the Nuggets have held their opponent to under 100 points after not doing that at all in the season’s first 22 games. The Suns scored just 11 points in the final period.

“Just proud of our guys one of the more complete games of the season,” Malone said. “And that’s something that we’ve been talking a lot about, you can’t be a two-quarter team in this league. And I thought that was one of our best defensive efforts from beginning to end.”

The Nuggets were able to rest their starters for the entire fourth quarter—big given the team in a stretch of five games in seven days.

The two teams will meet again on Wednesday as the nightcap to the NBA’s Christmas slate. Booker will have a chance to play after missing two games with groin soreness. Murray’s status is still up in the air but the Nuggets made his ankle injury seem like a minor issue. That means both teams could be full of their full array of stars for the marquee event.