In lots of respects, this half of the Western Convention Semifinals may very well be simplified all the way down to Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic vs Devin Booker and Kevin Durant. All 4 have been among the best offensive contributors main their workforce’s environment friendly offenses. In sport 1, the Nuggets’ pair received the battle, no query.
Murray didn’t play in any respect the final time these two groups met within the playoffs, ending with a fast “Suns in 4” ending. You’d should think about he’s hungry to show that end a fluke as a result of his 34-point sport on 13-24 taking pictures had slightly additional juice to it than most 34-point video games.
He additionally added a game-high 9 assists and two first half steals to set the tone for a disruptive defensive efficiency by the Nuggets, who don’t all the time get the credit score they deserve on that finish.
Neither Booker nor Durant reached 30 factors although they each had B-grade video games; Booker dished a team-high eight assists and Durant hustled his option to 14 rebounds and three blocks. There was simply by no means that very same alpha vitality they confirmed in spherical 1 when issues had been actually clicking over stretches for each scoring savants.
Jokic laid down a masterclass on the boards, making Deandre Ayton appear like a whole non-factor at occasions. The 2-time defending MVP completed with 19 rebounds (eight offensive) in contrast with Ayton’s seven (two offensive). No play demonstrates the distinction in effort higher than this one:
The Suns have been right here earlier than; they misplaced a sport 1 to the Clippers earlier than rattling off 4 straight wins to maneuver on to spherical 2 shortly. However make no mistake: Ayton and others have to have higher showings or this factor might go “Nuggets in 4”. They’ll reconvene at Ball Enviornment on Monday at 10 p.m. for sport 2.
