Jamal Murray had 23 points in Denver’s home opener, Nikola Jokic notched his second straight triple-double to start the season and the Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 133-111 on Saturday night.
Christian Braun scored 20 points and Aaron Gordon had 17 points two nights after posting a career-high 50 for Denver, which had seven players score in double figures. Cameron Johnson scored 15, Jonas Valanciunas added 12 and Bruce Brown contributed 11 as the Nuggets shot 51.2% (43 of 84) from the field.
Jokic finished with 14 points, 15 assists and 14 rebounds. He took just eight shots, making five, and didn’t attempt a field goal until a goaltending call on Phoenix with 2:26 left in the second quarter. His first shot attempt was a free throw with 4:18 left in the first half.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 31 points, Grayson Allen scored 17 and Dillon Brooks had 15. Phoenix shot just 43.2% (38 of 88) from the field.
Denver led by nine in the first quarter, which ended with Murray hitting a 56-foot pull-up jumper at the buzzer to make it 34-28.
It was a seven-point Nuggets lead midway through the second period and they finished the quarter strong. Gordon hit two free throws, a spinning dunk off a lob pass from Jokic and a 3-pointer. Murray hit another from deep in the final minute to give Denver a 71-54 halftime lead.
The Nuggets went ahead by 20 on Jokic’s turnaround jumper with 7:52 left in the third before Phoenix made a run. Brooks and Booker hit two buckets apiece, Oso Ighodaro made a layup and Booker converted a three-point play that got the Suns within nine.
Denver responded with 11 straight points and headed into the fourth with a 100-83 lead.
Murray’s 3-pointer early in the final quarter gave the Nuggets a 108-86 lead but Phoenix went on another run to get within 110-99 on Royce O’Neale’s 3-pointer midway through.
Denver scored the next 11 points to hold off the Suns.
–Field Level Media
