Phoenix Suns: Three Keys to Victory vs Nuggets in Game 5

What will it take for the Phoenix Suns to steal a game on the road and beat the Denver Nuggets in Game 5?

The Phoenix Suns are set to take on the Denver Nuggets tonight at 7 PM PST for Game 5 of their second-round series.

With the Western Conference Semifinals tied at 2-2, this game will be critical for the Suns to win. What will it take for Phoenix to finally win a game at Denver?

Feed Devin Booker

Devin Booker has been the driving force for the Suns throughout these playoffs as he is averaging 36.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 7.8 assists.

The season seemed hopeless for Phoenix as they went down 2-0 in the series, but Booker willed his team to string together two straight wins with a 47 point performance in Game 3 and 36 points in Game 4 to tie the series.

This Suns team only goes as far as Booker does, so it's critical that Phoenix feeds Booker’s hot hand if they want any chance of stealing a game in Denver.

Booker is scoring the basketball at a historic level right now so it's important that the Suns take advantage while Booker is still at the top of his game.

Contain Jamal Murray

No matter what defense is presented by the Suns, Nikola Jokic will always find a way to score and put up impressive numbers.

There may be no way to stop the two-time MVP but Phoenix should look to contain Jokic’s partner in crime, Jamal Murray.

So far Murray is having an outstanding series averaging 26 points, five rebounds and 7.3 assists. Murray scored 34 points in Game 1 the most of any player en route to a Nuggets blowout victory.

One thing Denver lacks is depth so if the Suns are to contain Murray in Game 5, it will be difficult for them to find a secondary scorer that could take the weight of Jokic’s shoulders.

Start off strong

No stats could define this but it's extremely important to start the game off on a high note when on the road in a playoff game.

The Suns are yet to win a game in Denver this series. In Game 1 the Nuggets outscored Phoenix 37-19 in the second quarter as the Suns were not able to recover. While Game 2 remained close for the majority of the contest, Phoenix could never gain a strong enough lead and the Nuggets capitalized, dominating in the fourth quarter.

If they are to win on the road, the Suns need to start off hot right out the gate setting the tone for the rest of the night and taking the fans out of the game quickly.

Kevin Durant has the most experience on Phoenix playing in hostile environments during the playoffs so it's really on him to help guide his team in this pivotal Game 5.