PHOENIX — The Nuggets’ winning streak has been defined by composure and poise, and it wasn’t until the last few minutes that they found it Monday night.
buried a game-winning step-back jumper from the right side of the court and Jerami Grant stuffed Devin Booker’s last-ditch attempt at a win as the Nuggets survived to defeat the Phoenix Suns 113-111, extending extend their winning streak to seven. The Nuggets, who trailed by nine points midway through the fourth quarter, improved their record to 21-8, the best start in their NBA franchise history.
“This wasn’t our best game, but when you don’t play your best, on the road, you have to find ways, and thatap what I’m proud about,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “To close out four games in six nights, back to back, on the road, heck of a win.”
After Murray’s clutch jumper, his second of the closing moments, he strode down the court mugging the entire Suns crowd.
logged his sixth triple-double of the season, finishing with 22 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a stunning effort.
Murray finished with 28 points, including four 3-pointers, and the Nuggets managed to make do despite 21 turnovers forced by Phoenix’s plucky defense.
The Suns were paced by 21 points from Ricky Rubio.
The Suns clawed back into the game by funneling their offense through the paint in the third quarter. Phoenix managed 20 points inside, and star guard Booker finally scored his first points (on free throws) after another fantastic defensive effort by Denver guard .
Murray countered with 11 points in the third quarter, relying on his midrange touch for the majority of his buckets. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Suns had sawed Denver’s lead to just 82-81.
They had also shown a reluctance to attack straight to the hoop, managing only four free throw attempts to that point.
Coming off Sunday’s rousing win over the LeBron-less Lakers in Los Angeles, Malone could only hope the reeling Suns had his team’s attention. The Nuggets were fortunate in that it was their depth, and not an overly dominant performance from one of their stars, that propelled them in Los Angeles.
“It was great that our bench played as well as they did, so you didn’t have to run your starters into the 38, 39 minutes, which we’ve had to do a few times as of late,” Malone said. “When Monte (Morris), Malik (Beasley), Jerami (Grant) and Mason (Plumlee) can go out there and play at a high level and allow us to rest guys, now you have maybe a little bit more left in the tank for tonight.
“Thatap always important, and thatap going to be so important for us moving forward. Can we rely on our bench consistently to give us that lift like they have quite a few times this year and did a lot for us last year?”
By halftime, the Nuggets had 21 points from their reserves in another strong effort.
Denver’s sizzling start didn’t last, though, and the Suns came roaring back in the second quarter. Rubio poured in 10 points, and the Suns drained six 3-pointers in the quarter alone to hack into the Nuggets’ cushion.
Buoyed by 61% shooting in the first half, the Nuggets held a 56-49 lead that would have been far bigger had they not coughed up 13 turnovers.
Murray, who had a team-high 10 points and five assists to that point, was the biggest culprit with three miscues of his own. Jokic nearly logged a first-half double-double, finishing with eight points, eight rebounds and four dimes.
As it was, the lead was sustained by scorching outside shooting. Denver knocked down 10-of-15 shots from 3-point range in the first half.
