Devin Booker enhances his play in Suns win over Nuggets

Buchou Ric

FOX Sports NBA Analyst

The combinations so that both phoenix sun And Denver nuggets show up and go out. If it’s up to Booker Devin, Kevin Durant, Nikola Jokić And Jamal Murray, the outcome of Sunday’s Game 4 may still be undecided. Phoenix’s reason 129-124 won and the series is currently drawn at 2-2? The Suns bench is subject to much malice.

Two games ago, that bench scored a total of four points when shooting 2/16. The Suns only scored 87 points as the Nuggets led the series 2-0. But a funny thing happened due to defending the starting point Chris Paul injured in that game: coach Monty Williams had no choice but to seek help from his bench. And that bench was delivered.

No sub contributed more to Sunday’s victory Embarrassed Landry, who never even took off his boot suit in that game 2 loss. Shamet had 19 points on the 6/9 shot, including 14 in the fourth. A three-pointer three-pointer boom in the three and a half minutes midway through the fourth quarter opened up a 10-point lead.

“It takes a whole team to win at this time of year,” said shooting guard Devin Booker. “It’s the highest form of basketball and I’m grateful to be a part of it.”

Booker is elevating that form. His shooting has become so clinical Steph curry there may soon be a challenger to his throne as the game’s best shooter, but where Booker’s game has really matured is in his decision-making. The Nuggets chose to trap him and force the ball out of his hand at every opportunity in the half-courts. In the past, Booker would have been frustrated and forced to deal with the problem. On Sunday, he trusted his teammates – obviously easier to do when one of them was Kevin Durant – and looked for his chances by attacking during the transition. Result: both he and Durant have 36 points. Booker also has the highest 12 assists in the game.

Nuggets coach Mike Malone acknowledged the Suns’ firepower and the contributions Williams received from his bench, but he blamed the series on his team’s efforts.

“Our defense did not reach the desert,” he said. “We have to be much more urgent on defense.”

The Nuggets also happen to have one of the league’s most powerful offensive weapons, many of the big guys, in Nikola Jokić, who game by game is erasing the idea that he’s a regular-season wonder rather than post-season performers. Jokić was almost as efficient and unstoppable as Booker, scoring 53 points and 11 assists. One can also see him repeatedly running outside the three-point arc to help put pressure on Booker.

However, overshadowing his performance was certainly the incident that occurred with two and a half minutes remaining in the second half, when the Suns ball and striker Josh Okogie flew into the front row near the end of the field opposite the team bench. One fan clamped the ball under his arm and when Jokić went to get it, the fan resisted, the ball flying away from both of them. A scuffle ensued, in which Jokić brought his arm to the fan’s chest, shoving him back into his seat.

Jokić was judged technical for unsportsmanlike conduct, but could face further consequences, in part because the fan happens to be the owner of the Suns’ new team Mat Ishbia.

That certainly wouldn’t sit well with Malone, who questioned why Jokić got the T. “I think that’s crazy,” he said. “Some fans are holding the ball as if he wants to be part of the game.” When informed that the fan was Ishbia, Malone was unimpressed. “I don’t care. Drop the ball, man.”

Ric Bucher is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. He has previously written for Bleacher Report, ESPN The Magazine and The Washington Post and has written two books, “Rebound,” about NBA forward Brian Grant’s battle with young-onset Parkinson’s disease, and “Yao: A Life In Two Worlds.” He also has a daily podcast, “On The Ball with Ric Bucher.” Follow him on Twitter @Ric Bucher.

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