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The Denver Nuggets needed a monster performance by Jamal Murray to blow out the Phoenix Suns in Game 1.
The Denver Nuggets defeated the Phoenix Suns 125-107 in the opening game of their second-round series on Sunday, April 30.
Jamal Murray scored 34 points and made six of Denver's 16 3-pointers. Aaron Gordon finished with 23 points for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, while Nikola Jokic, the reigning back-to-back NBA MVP, scored 24 points and pulled down 19 rebounds.
However, this was the Murray Show, where he made 6 of his 10 attempts from beyond the arc while frequently urging the already rowdy audience to raise their voices.
Devin Booker and Chris Paul each contributed 27 and 11 points to Kevin Durant's 29 points for the Suns. In a series victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round, Booker averaged 37.2 points per game.
Murray, now healthy, is displaying his 2020 form inside the NBA bubble, which helped Denver reach the Western Conference finals.
Murray made the best play of the game when he intercepted a pass, outran defenders Paul and Durant, and swished a layup high off the rim. The entire crowd rose to their feet.
With less than 7 minutes left, the explosive point guard continued to energize the crowd by making a 3-pointer. He even put his hand to his ear in an effort to get them to make more noise.
With 7:40 left in the game, the Nuggets went on a 14-0 run to seal the victory.
Denver increased its home record to 38-7 during the regular season and playoffs and led by as much as 25 points.
The Nuggets outscored the Suns by a score of 48-21 from beyond the arc, which made the difference.
The Nuggets employed a large number of defenders to stop Durant. He shot 12 of 19 from the field but just 1 of 3 from beyond the arc.
Karl Malone (4,761) is currently in seventh place on the NBA's postseason points leaderboard, and Durant is at 4,730 and needs 32 more playoff points to pass him.
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