Denver Nuggets to face Phoenix Suns in second round
The Denver Nuggets will officially face the Phoenix Suns in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, after Denver beat the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix beat the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday night.
The Nuggets and Suns have met three times this season, with Denver winning two, both coming in overtime. But all three of those games came in January when Denver, specifically, was a totally different team.
All three were relatively close games, with the Suns winning the first game on Jan. 1, 106-103, with Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton each scoring 22 points. The Nuggets won the second game in overtime on Jan. 22, 130-126, with Nikola Jokic scoring 31 points. The third game the Nuggets won in double overtime on Jan. 23, 120-112, with Jamal Murray scoring 26 points.
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This time the Nuggets will be without Murray, who scored 31, 18 and 26 in those three games, respectively. Players like Monte Morris and Facu Campazzo will have to help fill that void if the Nuggets want to reach the Western Conference Finals for the second season in a row.