Paul helps Suns throttle Nuggets to take 20 lead
Chris Paul had 17 points and 15 assists without a turnover, Devin Booker added 18 points and 10 rebounds and the Suns routed Denver 12398 in Phoenix on Wednesday night to take a 20 lead in the Western Conference semifinals.
Deandre Ayton had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Mikal Bridges added 16 points for the Suns. Paul was particularly impressive, and it appears his ailing right shoulder — which greatly limited his play against the Lakers in the first round — isn’t much of a problem anymore. He had 21 points and 11 assists in Game 1.
Nikola Jokic had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Denver, a day after getting the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award. But the Nuggets couldn’t find anyone else to score consistently, leaving them reeling going back to Denver for Game 3 on Friday night.
The Suns had a 10point halftime lead Wednesday and Jae Crowder added two 3pointers early in the third to make it 6043. Phoenix took an 8667 advantage into the fourth. The Suns led by 31 in the final quarter.
Crowder had another good night as the Suns’ longrange shooter and enforcer. He and Denver’s Aaron Gordon each were called for a technical foul after they exchanged words and shoves midway through the third period. On the next possession, Crowder coaxed
Gordon into an offensive foul, much to the delight of the 16,529 at Phoenix Suns Arena.
Paul pushed the sellout crowd into a frenzy in the fourth, throwing his 15th assist to Torrey Craig after crisscrossing around helpless Denver forward Paul Millsap. The 36yearold guard then hit two 3pointers and the celebration was on.
Phoenix took a 5242 halftime lead after a sloppy first half in which both teams struggled to generate offense. Denver was shaky from long range, making just 1 of 13 3point tries in the first quarter. Gobert honored: Utah’s Rudy Gobert won his third Defensive Player of the Year award after helping Utah to the best record in the NBA.
Gobert had the most blocked shots (190) and defensive rebounds (720) this season and is the fourth player to win the award at least three times.
He received 84 firstplace votes and 464 points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons was second with 15 firstplace votes and 287 votes. The Warriors’ Draymond Green was third with 76 points.
Pacers fire coach: Defensive struggles, injuries, a big trade, missed chances and lockerroom drama resulted in the firing of Nate Bjorkgren after one season as Indiana’s head coach. The Pacers went 3438 before losing 142115 to Washington in a playin game.