Nikola Jokic (R) of the Denver Nuggets posts up in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Phoenix Suns at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, May 1, 2023. /CFP
Nikola Jokic (R) of the Denver Nuggets posts up in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Phoenix Suns at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, May 1, 2023. /CFP
The Denver Nuggets defeated the Phoenix Suns 97-87 in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, on Monday, extending their lead to 2-0 in the series.
Compared with the 125-107 win in Game 1 in which all of the Nuggets shot superbly, victory in Game 2 came much harder. Jamal Murray ceased to be magical and missed 12 of his 15 field goals (FGs). The whole team only made seven triples out of 27 attempts. They were also beaten by the opponents in offensive rebounds (11-5).
Therefore, Nikola Jokic took the initiative to launch more individual attacks from the beginning, shooting 17-for-30 from the field to drop a double-double of 39 points and 16 rebounds. His offensive dominance translating into 11 and 18 points in the first and third quarters respectively were why the Nuggets kept the competition close on Monday night.
Nikola Jokic (#15) of the Denver Nuggets shoots in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Phoenix Suns at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, May 1, 2023. /CFP
Nikola Jokic (#15) of the Denver Nuggets shoots in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Phoenix Suns at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, May 1, 2023. /CFP
Though the rest of the team didn't provide as much as support to Jokic as they did in their last win, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope went 4-for-4 from downtown and three of the triples he made were in the fourth quarter. Aaron Gordon and Bruce Brown combined to earn 12 free throws and made 10 of them, doing much better than the entire Suns team that shot only five free throws in total.
Murray never found his shooting rhythm in Monday's game, but implemented his duty in playmaking with eight assists. The screen plays between him and Jokic enabled "the Joker" to make some easy off-ball layups instead of having to tussle with Deandre Ayton at every attempt.
Kevin Durant (L) of the Phoenix Suns penetrates in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, May 1, 2023. /CFP
Kevin Durant (L) of the Phoenix Suns penetrates in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, May 1, 2023. /CFP
The Suns overworked in correcting their mistakes in Game 1. They shot more 3-pointers but made fewer. However, this part of growth came at the cost of cutting down their charges of the rim. The team went as poorly as 15-for-31 in the paint, scoring 18 fewer points (48-30) than the opponents. Neither did they do well in their favorite mid-range jump shooting as they missed 23 of their 44 attempts in this area.
Like the Nuggets, most of the Suns' players shot poorly on Monday. It took Kevin Durant 27 FGs to get 24 points as he only made 10 of them. Chris Paul went 1-for-7 from the field in the first two quarters. When he just began to heat up by making three mid-range jumpers in the third quarter, he exited the game with a groin injury and never returned. Paul turns 38 years old on Saturday. Players at his age usually don't recover very fast.
Devin Booker (#1) of the Phoenix Suns shoots in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, May 1, 2023. /CFP
Devin Booker (#1) of the Phoenix Suns shoots in Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference semifinals against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, May 1, 2023. /CFP
The Suns added Cameron Payne to their rotation in Monday's game so they could have more playmaking choices and possibly more weapons to target Jokic. Nonetheless, Payne shot 1-for-7 from the field, delivered only one assist, but committed four fouls in less than 17 minutes.
Devin Booker became the only player the Suns could count on for offensive production as he scored 35 points and six assists at 48.3 percent from the field. However, even he couldn't break the increasingly tighter defense on him in the fourth quarter, missing six of his eight attempts in the period to contribute only four points.
Game 3 will happen at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday.
James Harden (#1) of the Philadelphia 76ers drives toward the rim in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, May 1, 2023. /CFP
James Harden (#1) of the Philadelphia 76ers drives toward the rim in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, May 1, 2023. /CFP
James Harden reminds Celtics what a dominant force he used to be
The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 119-115 in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, on Monday, leading 1-0 in the series.
Without Joel Embiid, the 76ers had no one but James Harden to go to for scoring, though he is already 33 years old, much less athletic and shouldering most of the team's orchestrating work. He has never reached 25 points per game during the regular season since the 2020-21 campaign. By contrast, he had never averaged lower than that per game between the 2012-13 and the 2019-20 seasons, not to mention that he is a three-straight-time NBA scoring leader between 2017 and 2020.
James Harden (#1) of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, May 1, 2023. /CFP
James Harden (#1) of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, May 1, 2023. /CFP
Harden responded to the 76ers' expectations with postseason career-high 45 points after shooting 17-for-30 from the field and 7-for-14 behind the arc. He held the team together with 16 and 15 points in the first and fourth quarters respectively while De'Anthony Melton and Tyrese Maxey carried their offense in the second and third periods.
The 76ers still trailed 115-114 when there were 26.1 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Harden dribbled to the front court and faced last season's NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart. P.J. Tucker came to set a pick for Harden. The Celtics decided to have 36-year-old Al Horford switch to mark Harden instead of double-teaming him with Smart, despite that Harden already got 42 points previously in the game.
De'Anthony Melton (#8) of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, May 1, 2023. /CFP
De'Anthony Melton (#8) of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots in Game 1 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, May 1, 2023. /CFP
Harden shot and made the decisive 3-pointer over the fingertips of Horford to put his side ahead with 8.4 seconds left. Then came the highlight of disappointment by Smart, who first turned the ball over to Paul Reed and then missed the Celtics' final 3-pointer.
The Celtics have no one but themselves to blame for Monday's loss. They were not even close to the word "focused" during the entire game. They committed a total of 16 turnovers and allowed left-handed Harden to go left nearly every time he penetrated. Moreover, in spite of their huge size, athletic and wingspan advantages in most positions, the team grabbed no more offensive rebounds than the 76ers, which explained why they shot 14 fewer FGs than the opponents.
Game 2 will take place at the TD Garden on Wednesday.