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Devin Booker scored 35 points, Kevin Durant had
24 points and Deandre Ayton added 14 for the Suns, who lost
Chris Paul to left groin tightness in the third quarter. Paul
produced eight points and six assists in 25 minutes.
Game 3 in the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Friday in
Phoenix.
The Suns led by three points entering the fourth quarter, but
they missed their first nine shots of the final period. Denver
grabbed a 78-73 lead on two 3-pointers from Caldwell-Pope and a
short jumper by Murray.
Durant broke the drought with a fadeaway and driving layup to
make it a one-point game with 7:36 left.
The lead stayed within a five-point margin until under the
three-minute mark, with both teams having chances to make a run.
Jokic put the Nuggets ahead 86-81 when Durant was called for
goaltending.
Bruce Brown blocked a Durant shot, and after a timeout,
Caldwell-Pope hit another 3-pointer to give Denver an 89-81 lead
with 2:43 to go. Cameron Payne missed at the other end, and
Murray made a jumper to give the Nuggets a 10-point advantage,
and the hosts closed it out.
After a high-scoring Game 1 on Saturday night (a 125-107 Nuggets
win), the defenses were in control in the first half of Game 2.
Both teams struggled to make shots, but Phoenix used nine
offensive rebounds to outscore Denver 8-0 in second-chance
points and lead 42-40 at halftime.
The Suns started to surge in the third quarter. The game was
tied at 48 before Durant hit a pair of free throws, Booker and
Paul made pull-up jumpers, Durant drained a 3-pointer and Paul
hit an 18-footer to give Phoenix a 59-51 lead.
The Nuggets got within 59-56 on a three-point play from Michael
Porter Jr., but the Suns stretched the lead to 68-61 on a Booker
jump shot. Jokic scored Denver's last nine points of the period
to get the Nuggets within 73-70 heading into the fourth.
--Field Level Media
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