Phoenix Suns even NBA Playoffs series with Denver Nuggets with Game 4 victory
The Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets in Phoenix on Sunday night in Game 4, 129-124 to even up their Western Conference NBA Playoffs series 2-2 before heading back to Denver on Tuesday for Game 5.
Look back at our updates from the game.
Phoenix Suns even series with Denver Nuggets with Game 4 victory
The Phoenix Suns are right back in their NBA Playoffs series with the Denver Nuggets after a 129-124 win in Game 4 at Footprint Center on Sunday, evening the Western Conference semifinal matchup at two games each.
Game 5 is scheduled for Tuesday at Ball Arena in Denver.
Nikola Jokic had 53 points for the Nuggets, on 20-for-30 shooting, but Phoenix was able to outscore the Nuggets behind Devin Booker and Kevin Durant's 36 points each, along with an inspired effort from the Suns' bench.
Durant was 11-for-19 from the field, while Booker was 14-for-18.
Landry Shamet led Phoenix's bench with 19 points, including four big 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
Terrence Ross and Jock Landale each had eight points off the bench for the Suns, while T.J. Warren had five, including two big free throws late.
Jamal Murray added 28 points for the Nuggets. Denver only got 11 points off the bench in Game 4.
Both teams shot the ball extremely well, with Phoenix going 46-for-81 from the field and Denver ending up 50-for-89.
It's now a best-of-3 series, but the Suns will have to win one game in Denver to win the series.
Final score: Suns 129, Nuggets 124
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T.J. Warren extends Suns' lead vs. Nuggets
T.J. Warren only has five points for the Suns, but he just hit two huge free throws to give Phoenix a 125-120 lead with 22 seconds left against the Nuggets.
The Suns were able to force a jump ball against Nikola Jokic, which Deandre Ayton tipped to Warren, who was fouled.
Nuggets win challenge vs. Suns
Denver has the ball with 45 seconds left, down 123-120 after a successful challenge by Michael Malone gave it the ball back after it was initially ruled out on Denver.
Aaron Gordon picks up fifth foul vs. Suns
Kevin Durant was fouled on a shot attempt by Aaron Gordon and hit both attempts to make it 123-118 with 1:20 left in the fourth quarter.
It was Gordon's fifth foul.
Devin Booker picks up fifth foul vs. Nuggets
Devin Booker picked up his fifth foul with 2:21 left in the game and the Suns ahead 121-116.
Something to monitor as this game heads into the final moments.
Landry Shamet delivering for Suns in Game 4 vs. Nuggets
Landry Shamet is having himself a game for the Phoenix Suns.
He's up to 17 points in the game and has hit some huge 3-pointers in this quarter. He's 5-for-7 from 3-point range in this game and has played 25 minutes.
Four of his five threes have come in the fourth quarter.
The Suns are +20 when he is in the game.
Score: Suns 116, Nuggets 106 (4:55 left in fourth quarter)
Suns' bench stepping up in Game 4 vs. Nuggets
The Suns' bench has outscored the Nuggets' bench in this game, 28-9.
That wasn't expected, but it has definitely provided the team with a boost, especially here in the fourth quarter with a couple of huge 3-pointers by Landry Shamet.
Shamet now has 11 points in the game. Terrence Ross has eight. Jock Landale has six and T.J. Warren has three.
Devin Booker has been picking up some valuable rest on the sideline early this quarter, while Phoenix has outscored Denver 10-8.
Score: Suns 108, Nuggets 100 (7:33 left in fourth quarter)
Suns take biggest lead of game into fourth quarter
The Suns might have an answer for Nikola Jokic after all.
Devin Booker.
The Suns star is up to 36 points after making some huge 3-pointers late in the third quarter of Game 4 to give the Suns a 98-92 lead in the game, their biggest lead in the game.
Booker is 14-for-17 from the field and 3-for-4 from 3-point range.
Buckle up. This fourth quarter could be a treat.
Score: Suns 98, Nuggets 92 (end of third quarter)
Nikola Jokic putting on a show in Game 4 vs. Suns
The Suns have no answer for Nikola Jokic.
The Denver Nuggets star now has 40 points in Game 4, on 15-for-20 shooting. He has 16 points in the third quarter on 6-for-7 shooting.
Deandre Ayton has picked up four fouls for the Suns, meaning Jock Landale is going to get a lot of run trying to contain Jokic.
Score: Nuggets 88, Suns 87 (2:40 left in third quarter)
Devin Booker keeping Suns with Nuggets in Game 4
Devin Booker had 27 points for the Suns in Game 4 on 11-for-14 shooting.
The Suns have needed every one of them.
Phoenix is tied with Denver, 77-77 with 5:57 left in the third quarter.
How big is this game? A win for Phoenix would even the series 2-2. A loss would give Denver a 3-1 edge going back to Denver for Game 5.
Score: Suns 77, Nuggets 77 (5:57 left in third quarter)
Suns take lead into half of Game 4 vs. Nuggets
That was quite a first half in Phoenix, that featured an incident between Nikola Jokic and a Suns fan, who just so happened to be the owner of the team, Mat Ishbia.
Phoenix has a 63-61 lead at the half.
Jokic leads all scorers with 24 points. Kevin Durant has 21 and Devin Booker has 19 for Phoenix.
The Nuggets were 24-for-44 from the field in the first half. The Suns were 23-for-46.
Score: Suns 63, Nuggets 61 (halftime)
More: Nikola Jokic, Suns team owner Mat Ishbia have exchange in first half of Phoenix-Denver Game 3
Nikola Jokic pushes Suns owner Mat Ishbia on sideline
Well, that was interesting. Nuggets star Nikola Jokic shoved Suns owner Mat Ishbia while attempting to get the ball back from the sidelines in a bizarre play after Josh Okogie had fallen out of bounds.
Jokic was called for an unsportsmanlike technical on the play. A fan (not Ishbia) was ejected from the game for making contact with Jokic.
Here's the sequence:
Suns owner Mat Ishbia and Nikola Jokic just had a tense moment. Jokic received a technical foul for shoving Ishbia. pic.twitter.com/1RxC5wNPPR
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) May 8, 2023
More: Who is Mat Ishbia? Meet the Phoenix Suns' new majority owner
Devin Booker staying hot for Suns against Nuggets
Devin Booker is on a roll for the Suns.
The Suns star started the game 8-for-9 from the field for 19 points. His lone field goal miss was from the 3-point line.
Nikola Jokic is matching Booker, however. He is up to 20 points in the game, having scored 11 straight points for Denver. He is 8-for-12 from the field.
Score: Suns 54, Nuggets 54 (2:50 left in second quarter)
Fouls piling up in first half of Suns vs. Nuggets Game 4
Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic and Jeff Green each have two fouls for the Nuggets, while Bruce Brown has three.
T.J. Warren, Jock Landale and Cameron Payne each have two for Phoenix.
The Nuggets have 10 fouls as a team. The Suns have nine.
Denver is 5-for-7 from the free throw line. Phoenix is 10-for-14.
Score: Suns 51, Nuggets 49 (4:40 left in second quarter)
Kevin Durant shining for Suns in Game 4 vs. Nuggets
Kevin Durant was not efficient for the Suns in Game 3 on Friday.
He's looking more like his normal self in Game 4.
Durant has 14 points so far in the game, but more importantly is 4-for-8 from the field after really struggling in Game 3.
He is still being aggressive and is 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
The Suns rested Devin Booker the first four minutes of the second quarter.
Score: Suns 43, Nuggets 43 (7:18 left in second quarter)
Quick timeout by Nuggets in second quarter
The Nuggets called a quick timeout in the second quarter, with coach Michael Malone appearing to try to stop some momentum the Suns were building.
Jock Landale had a put-back dunk for the Suns to continue his recent strong play off the bench for Phoenix. He also has two rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Score: Nuggets 37, Suns 35 (10:09 left in second quarter)
Nuggets lead Suns after first quarter of Game 4 in Phoenix
The Nuggets have a 34-32 lead on the Suns at the end of the first quarter at Footprint Center, but the Suns have a lot of momentum after being down by nine points earlier in the quarter.
Kevin Durant hit a shot as time expired in the quarter to bull Phoenix within two points.
Durant had 11 points for the Suns in the quarter on 3-for-7 shooting. Devin Booker had 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting.
Nikola Jokic had nine points to lead the Nuggets, while Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray each had seven.
Score: Nuggets 34, Suns 32 (end of first quarter)
Nuggets go on run vs. Suns in first quarter
The Nuggets have built a 9-point lead on the Suns in the first quarter.
Phoenix is pushing the tempo in the game, which has to favor the Suns, as they try to make this a track meet and wear down the Nuggets. But so far, Denver is doing just fine with the up-tempo game.
Kevin Durant is once again getting to the free throw line for Phoenix, he's 4-for-5 there in the game so far.
Denver is 12-for-22 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3-point range. Phoenix is shooting just 6-for-17 from the field and 1-for-4 from 3-point range.
Score: Nuggets 28, Suns 19 (3:10 left in first quarter)
Devin Booker, Kevin Durant off to fast starts for Suns
Will it be the Devin Booker and Kevin Durant Show again for the Suns in Game 4?
The Suns duo has combined for 11 of the team's first 13 points in the early going, with Booker scoring six and Durant five.
Josh Okogie has Phoenix's other two points.
The Nuggets have four players who have scored so far, with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic each with four and Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with two each.
Score: Suns 13, Nuggets 12 (6:36 left in first quarter)
Deandre Ayton shines on first possession for Suns
After a lackluster Game 3, Deandre Ayton didn't take long to make his presence felt in Game 4 of the Suns vs. Nuggets series.
He had three offensive rebounds on the first possession of the game.
Not a bad start for the Phoenix big man, who came under a lot of criticism for his Game 3 effort (or lack of effort?).
Can Ayton put together a big game for the Suns? That would go a long way in determining whether Phoenix goes back to Denver for Game 5 tied 2-2 in the series, or down 3-1.
Score: Suns 7, Nuggets 4 (8:41 left in first quarter)
Starting lineups for Suns, Nuggets in Game 4
There are not surprises in the starting lineups for Game 4 of the Suns vs. Nuggets NBA Playoffs series at Footprint Center in Phoenix on Sunday night.
The Suns are starting Josh Okogie and Kevin Durant at the forward spots, Deandre Ayton at center and Devin Booker and Cameron Payne as the guards.
The Nuggets are going with Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon as the forwards, Nikola Jokic at center and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jamal Murray as the guards.
How to watch Game 4 of Nuggets vs. Suns
The Suns vs. Nuggets game on Sunday can be seen on TNT.
You can see the complete schedule for the Suns vs. Nuggets NBA Playoffs series here.
Nuggets vs. Suns Game 4 prediction
USA TODAY Sports' Sportsbook Wire has the Suns winning Game 3, 114-113.
It writes: "The 113.6 points per game the Suns score are just 1.1 more points than the Nuggets allow (112.5). When Phoenix scores more than 112.5 points, it is 31-11-2 against the spread and 34-10 overall.Denver is 36-11-1 against the spread and 40-8 overall when allowing fewer than 113.6 points. The Nuggets score an average of 115.8 points per game, just 4.2 more points than the 111.6 the Suns allow."
You can see other picks and predictions for the contest here.
Nuggets vs. Suns Game 4 odds
The Suns are a 1.5-point favorite over the Nuggets, according to Tipico Sportsbook.
Phoenix is -115 on the moneyline, while Denver is -105.
The over/under for the game is set at 225.5 points.
You can see more odds for the Suns vs. Nuggets NBA Playoffs series here.
Pregame reading for Nuggets vs. Suns Game 4
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NBA Twitter reacts to Devin Booker's performance in Phoenix Suns' win vs. Denver Nuggets
How to defend Jamal Murray: Torrey Craig explains Suns' approach
Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns beat Denver Nuggets in Game 4 to even NBA Playoffs series
