PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns defeated the Denver Nuggets 122-105 to take Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals at Phoenix Suns Arena on Monday night.
For the second straight series, the Suns have come out on top in Game 1. And for the second straight series, Denver finds themselves trailing after one.
Mikal Bridges came up huge for Phoenix all day, leading in scoring with 23 points, adding 5 rebounds and 5 assists.
Meanwhile, Devin Booker added 21, DeAndre Ayton 20 and 10 rebounds. Chris Paul scored 21 with 15 coming in the fourth quarter alone. Jae Crowder also found double figures with 14.
For the Nuggets, upcoming NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, who averaged over 33 points per game in their first-round series, was relatively held in check. He led the Nuggets with 22 and added 9 rebounds. Michael Porter Jr. had 15 points.
It was a tie game through the first quarter and the Nuggets held a one-point lead at the half.
To start the third, it looked like things were about to start spinning out of control for Phoenix with a 9-1 Denver run, giving them a 10 point lead.
But that didn't last long.
The Suns would answer with an incredible 13-0 run, which would turn into a 31-7 run into the fourth quarter.
The Suns led by as many as 18 points with eight minutes left in the game. Chris Paul scored 15 fourth-quarter points as the Suns put the game away and went on to win 122-105.
Game 2 is set for Wednesday night in Phoenix at 9:30 p.m.