Suns Tie Western Conference Semifinals: How They Got Here and What Happens Next?

The Phoenix Suns walked away as big winners from Game 4 against the Denver Nuggets.

After going down 2-0 early in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Phoenix Suns have tied the series after a two-game homestand. The Denver Nuggets handled the Suns very well in the first two games, leaving Phoenix with their heads hanging as they returned home for Games 3/4.

However, the Suns didn’t let this keep them down as they bounced back with two big wins, tying the series with efforts led by the superstar duo of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Here is a quick recap of Game 4 and what to expect heading forward in the series.

How the Suns managed to win despite a Nikola Jokic masterclass

As expected, this series has been all offense, and last night was no different. Former back-to-back reigning MVP Nikola Jokic had an astonishing 53-point, 11-assist performance and still lost as Booker and the Suns put up 129 points. One of our previous keys to this series was each team’s respective duo outplaying the other, but in Game 4 it was the surrounding players that made the difference.

Landry Shamet averaged just two PPG through the first seven games of the playoffs, but he made up for it last night as he scored 19 points in 30 minutes to carry the rest of the load that Booker and Durant couldn’t. Jock Landale was also incredible off the bench, bringing some much-needed energy to the lineup. He showed flashes of this success early in the regular season, and we saw it once again last night. 

Even so, the duo in Phoenix still managed to score a combined 72 points, adding 17 rebounds and 18 assists. Nuggets tandem Jamal Murray and Jokic combined for 81 points, statistically outplaying Booker and Durant, but the rest of the lineup didn’t produce as much as they needed to.

What needs to happen for the Suns to pull out a win in the series?

Moving forward in the series, it’s still very much about each team’s top-two players and how much they will be able to carry the load. Jokic is having an unbelievable series, but he’s doing it against an unfocused Deandre Ayton, which cannot happen moving forward if the Suns want to win. 

A play that resulted in three offensive rebounds for Ayton early in game four showed signs of a potential bounce-back game, but this wasn’t the case as he struggled yet again with a defensive disaster class and putting up just eight points on the offensive end.

Booker and Durant have continued to succeed, but they will need players like Shamet, Josh Okogie, and Cam Payne to step up, especially with Chris Paul out for an unknown stretch of time moving forward. 

So far, Phoenix has managed without Paul, but it’s unlikely the Suns will get another 19+ performance out of Shamet in this series. Other guys will need to step up and pick up the slack left behind as Durant and Booker while averaging over 60 points combined, can’t do everything.