Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Devin Booker also scored 22, and the visiting Phoenix Suns beat the Denver Nuggets 106-103 on Friday night.
Chris Paul added 21 points and Mikal Bridges scored 14 for the Suns, who have won four straight.
Jamal Murray had 31 points in his return to the lineup, Nikola Jokic had 17 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds for Denver. Paul Millsap added 15 and Monte Morris scored 10 off the bench.
The Nuggets played without Michael Porter Jr. and will be without their third-leading scorer for multiple games due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols regarding contact tracing.
Murray sat out Tuesday’s game at Sacramento with an elbow contusion and JaMychal Green made his Denver debut after sitting out the first four with a left calf strain.
Phoenix took the lead in the final minute of the first quarter and kept it for most of the game. It was 94-84 when Jokic hit a layup, Murray scored seven points, Jokic scored off an offensive rebound and Morris hit a 3-pointer from the wing to give the Nuggets a 98-97 lead.
Paul’s two free throws and Booker’s 3-pointer put Phoenix back in front, but Denver had a chance to tie with 31 seconds left but Gary Harris lost the ball as he went up for a dunk.
Paul hit a fadeaway from just outside the lane to give the Suns a four-point lead with 7.1 seconds left. Jokic hit a 3-pointer, Paul made two free throws and Murray missed a 3-pointer at the horn.
Phoenix led 60-49 at halftime and the Nuggets got within 65-59 on a 3-pointer by Murray. It was an eight-point game after Green’s dunk but Phoenix started to pull away.
Booker had a dunk, layup and a 3-pointer in a 9-2 run, and after Monte Morris hit one from deep, Phoenix stretched the lead to 87-71, its biggest of the night. Denver scored the final seven points of the third to get within nine heading into the fourth.
–Field Level Media