Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns spoiled Nikola Jokic’s MVP celebration with a 116-102 victory over Denver on Friday in Game 3, putting “The Joker” and the rest of the reeling Nuggets on the brink of a quick second-round exit.
Booker scored 28 points and teamed with Chris Paul to lead a steady offensive onslaught that countered Jokic’s triple-double of 32 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists.
“I’m frustrated with myself because I missed shots,” said Jokic, who shot just 13 for 29. “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.”
Photo: AFP
With their sixth straight victory, the second-seeded Suns took a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 is at Denver’s Ball Arena tomorrow morning Taiwan time.
Paul had 27 points, eight assists and three steals for the Suns, who pulled away after halftime for the third straight time. All five of Phoenix’s starters scored in double figures.
They are a one win away from their first trip to the Western Conference Finals since 2009-2010 — which was the previous time that Phoenix made the playoffs.
Photo: AFP
Monte Morris scored 21 off the bench for Denver.
Jokic dedicated his MVP award to his teammates during a raucous pregame ceremony that Nuggets coach Michael Malone had hoped would energize his team, who have lost by 17, 25 and now 14 points in this series.
“I just feel bad that we weren’t able to pull out a win for them, because they made this atmosphere electric,” Malone said of the crowd of 18,277.
Suns coach Monty Williams said his team were ready for the energy boost the big crowd supplied by serenading Jokic.
“We expected it,” Williams said. “We respect what Jokic has done this season. We knew he was going to get the trophy. We were fighting a lot of things, but because we have veteran guys who have been in a ton of situations — Chris [Paul] and Jae [Crowder] — those guys were galvanizing the guys before jump ball, like: ‘Let’s go, we’re here for business.’”
In Los Angeles, Joel Embiid finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Philadelphia 76ers snapped the Atlanta Hawks’ run of good fortune at home with a 127-111 win in game 3 of their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series.
The teams split the first two games in Philadelphia, but the Sixers dominated on Friday to grab a 2-1 series lead and halt the Hawks’ 13-game winning streak at home.
Tobias Harris scored 22 points and Ben Simmons tallied 18 points and seven assists, while Furkan Korkmaz drained three of six from beyond the arc for the 76ers in front of a crowd of 16,400 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.
Embiid had a couple of hard falls during the contest, but nothing serious.
“I’m OK,” said Embiid, who is playing with a cartilage tear in his right knee. “I’m standing up. I’m walking. I finished the game. So I’m gonna keep getting back up. I’m going to keep fighting. That’s been me since I’ve been playing basketball.”
Game 4 is to be played in Atlanta on Tuesday morning Taiwan time.
Philadelphia shot 52 percent overall and an impressive 47 percent from beyond the arc, making 10 of 21, while Atlanta made just six of 23.
Philadelphia’s three-point shooting has improved as the series progressed, going from 34 percent in game 1 to 46 percent in game 2.
“I was just trying to push the pace and get in the lane, stay aggressive and get to the rim, get into a rhythm,” Simmons said. “I think I did a good job of that in the second half.”
The Sixers also once again contained the Hawks’ rising star Trae Young, who finished with 28 points in 37 minutes of playing time.
John Collins scored 23 points, while Clint Capela had eight points and 16 rebounds in the loss.
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