The Suns currently look like a totally different team than what the world saw in Games 1 and 2. Throwing out unfamiliar combinations in rotations continues to help Phoenix too. It was a huge part of them winning this game.” “You tip your cap, and you say Landry Shamet, he gave them a third scoring option tonight. “We know what KD and Booker can do,” Malone said after Game 4. Has the Suns' bench turned a corner after Game 4 outburst? Shamet led all the reserves in Game 4 with 19 points on 6-for-9 shooting, pouring in 14 points in the fourth quarter alone despite not even playing a single minute in Game 2. The Game 4 emergence of Shamet only compounded matters for Denver’s defense - which was previously laser-focused on shutting down Booker and Durant - by providing Phoenix a No. Over his last two games, the league’s postseason scoring leader drilled 34 of his last 43 shots, earning recognition as the first player in NBA history to notch 30-plus point games on 75% or better shooting in back-to-back outings the playoffs.ĭurant, meanwhile, provides the second piece of a pair of teammates averaging 30 points or more during the playoffs, a feat occurring for the first time since 1962 (Jerry West and Elgin Baylor). Nuggets coach Michael Malone called his team’s defense on Booker “unacceptable” after Game 3, only for the superstar Suns guard to torch Denver again with a 36-point gem in Game 4. After two consecutive losses to a surging Phoenix squad powered by classic performances from Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, a refreshed bench led by Landry Shamet and a speedier offense with Cameron Payne at the controls in place of Chris Paul, Denver finds itself reeling in adjustment mode after initially seizing an early 2-0 lead to start this series. ![]() We’ll see soon enough when the Nuggets and Suns clash again in Game 5 of the West semis on Tuesday ( 10 ET, TNT) at Ball Arena with the series tied 2-2. “How are we gonna respond?” Jeff Green asked repeatedly, almost rhetorically to Aaron Gordon. Newly used role players like Jock Landale have put Denver on its heels entering a critical Game 5.ĭENVER – Quietly, near the back of a near-empty locker room after Denver’s Game 4 loss Sunday to Phoenix in the Western Conference Semifinals, two players dressed slowly speaking in hushed tones.
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