The Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets 116-102 at Ball Arena on Friday, leading the Western Conference semifinals 3-0.

36-year-old Chris Paul again taught Nikola Jokic, who received the NBA MVP trophy before the game, a painful lesson. The veteran began to force the Nuggets to make hard defensive choices from the beginning. He drove to the free-throw line slowly, waiting for a response from the opponents. If Jokic rushed out, Paul could create easy two points for Deandre Ayton; if other Nugget came to help, Paul could find the open teammate; if no one came, Paul could drain it from middle range.

The Suns led in the first and the third quarter in which Paul was 5-6 on the field – four of those shots were middle-range jumpers. In the last quarter, he had eight points, three assists and two steals, helping the Suns stand up to the desperate counterattack of the Nuggets. In the fourth quarter of all three games so far in the series, Paul went 12-13 in FGs, putting down 30 points and eight assists without committing any turnover.

The last time the Suns appeared in the playoffs happened 11 years ago. They reached the Western Finals led by another Hall of Fame guard, 36-year-old Steve Nash, back then. This time, Paul is their guide at the same age.

The loss made Friday night taste more bitter than sweet to Jokic. He did everything he could by dropping a triple-double of 32 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists, all court highs. The 26-year-old showed aggressiveness, which has been absent in the previous two games, by earning nine free throws and grabbed 10 offensive rebounds in front of Ayton.

"I'm frustrated with myself because I missed shots. I didn't play on top of my game, especially shooting-wise. It would be much easier for us if I started making shots. Of course, they're making it tough for me to make shots," said Jokic after the game. He was 5-9 in free throws and 1-6 in triples.

However, it's hard to assume that this game would have ended differently even if Jokic had made some of those missed shots. The Nuggets were outperformed by the Suns both offensively and defensively. They had no solution to Booker and Paul, couldn't find the right answer to Paul's multi-choice test, and had no idea who could be there to share Jokic's burden.

Coach Michael Malone might be blamed for not making enough adjusts, but he does not have the resources he needs to even start considering how to adjust.

Game 4 will take place again at Ball Arena on Sunday.

Philadelphia 76ers 127-111 Atlanta Hawks (2-1)

The 76ers managed to come back from a surprising 1-0 trail and gain the lead after three games because they have been playing it right from Game 2.

Trae Young was treated with the best defensive efforts the 76ers could come up with. Ben Simmons, Matisse Thybulle, hedge and recover, double-teaming, name it and the 76ers stopped at nothing trying to limit the 1.85-meter-tall guard who has already averaged 28.8 points and 9.8 assists per game in his postseason debut.

Despite all of the 76ers' defensive efforts, Young still scored 28 points and eight assists after going 3-6 beyond downtown and capitalizing almost every floater opportunity in front of Joel Embiid.

Embiid almost had a triple-double claiming 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Nonetheless, he was not enjoying much comfort during the 33 minutes on the floor. The Hawks would double team Embiid even before he posted up. In fact, Embiid could find himself surrounded by four defenders in the low block.

Both sides smothered each other's starting lineup and were at draw 79-79, leaving the game to their bench squads.

Then the 76ers' bench unit sealed the win by putting down 48 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and six triples, beating their Hawks counterpart in each of the above stats. Furkan Korkmaz contributed 14 points, 11 of which in Q1. He also buried two from the arc in that quarter – three if you count that 3-point foul he earned as a triple too.

By contrast, the Hawks' backup players were 1-9 from the 3-point line. Danilo Gallinari could still make up his 0-4 shooting in triples with 9-9 free throws, Lou Williams, who took no 3-pointer attempt at all, and Kevin Huerter, who went 0-5 in triples, are nothing but defensive deadweight when they could not make offensive contributions.

The Hawks won't see DeAndre Hunter come back in the playoffs after the young man underwent knee surgery. The 76ers watched Danny Green quit Game 3 within four minutes due to calf strain. He will take an MRI on Saturday.

Game 4 will take place again at State Farm Arena on June 14.