PHOENIX – Only Nikola Jokic could describe his performance Sunday in Phoenix as anything close to normal.

Jokic reached a new playoff career-high in the third quarter and put the finishing touches on his 53-point night, a new personal best and franchise record for individual points in a playoff game, in the fourth quarter.

“That’s what great players do this time of year,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

He made 20 of his 30 shots, including 2 of 4 3-pointers, and 11 of his 13 free throws. The big night was a byproduct of Phoenix’s decision to guard Jokic one-on-one for most of the night with either Deandre Ayton or Jock Landale.

“That’s what we needed from him tonight. That’s what they were giving up. It seems like they were giving that up on purpose sometimes. So, if they’re going to do that, we just have to let him score,” Michael Porter Jr. said. “Obviously, Nikola likes to pass a lot, but when he’s aggressive like that, it’s usually a good thing for us.”

It wasn’t a good enough thing Sunday, as the Suns evened the second-round series at two games apiece with a 129-124 win. In typical Jokic fashion, he lamented a turnover, one of his six on the night, with the Nuggets down 3 with 22.8 seconds left. That led to a jump ball, which Phoenix won with the help of Ayton’s arm on Jokic’s shoulder, decreasing his elevation.

“We didn’t make good decisions,” Jokic said of the team’s performance in the final minutes. “That’s part of basketball. Small details, that’s why you win; that’s why you lose.”

The two-time Most Valuable Player finished with 11 assists, four rebounds and a blocked shot, making him the first center in NBA history with 50 points and 10 assists in a playoff game. He scored nine points in the first quarter and went to halftime with 24 points and one altercation with Suns owner Mat Ishbia, another oddity on the night. He scored 18 more points in the third quarter when he took 10 of his field goals and finished the night with an 11-point, five-assist fourth quarter.

“Maybe I was little bit more aggressive in one moment, maybe that third quarter when I took a little bit more shots,” Jokic said, coming as close as he would to acknowledging his Game 4 performance was different.

“I think I played normally.”

The Nuggets might need more than normal from their leader when the series resumes Tuesday in Denver. Phoenix evened the series behind superstar contributions from Kevin Durant and Devin Booker in the last two games to go with some clutch shooting from reserves Landry Shamet, T.J. Warren and Terrence Ross. Jokic hasn’t gotten the same help from his costars or role players.

“(He) kept us in the game for large parts of the game tonight,” Malone said. “We’ll need even more from him moving forward if we’re going to find a way to go home and win Game 5.”