Nuggets Take Jab at Suns Ahead of Potentially Closing Out NBA Finals

Multiple Denver Nuggets brought up the Phoenix Suns ahead of tonight's Game 5 against the Miami Heat.

The Phoenix Suns haven't played basketball in a month, though headlines are still being generated off the court. The offseason began swiftly in the desert after Monty Williams was fired just 48 hours after the team's embarrassing Game 6 loss to the Denver Nuggets - a loss that sent them home in the second round in back to back years despite holding championship-level expectations.

The Suns have very much been bystanders for the rest of the postseason, watching the Nuggets roll through their following opponents. A win today against the Miami Heat would bring home a franchise-first NBA championship, something the Suns themselves are still after. 

Phoenix - who took Denver to six games in their series - has been the only team to win multiple matchups against the Nuggets this postseason.

“I think this team is different than the other teams we've faced,” Denver's Michael Porter Jr. said Monday (h/t Duane Rankin).

“They're relentless. They're going to come in full force. We ended up actually blowing Phoenix out in Phoenix, but we know (Monday) is not going to be like that. But one thing about this team is we just have a game-by-game mentality, so we're viewing it as we're down 3-1, we're not up 3-1 right now."

Interesting to bring up Phoenix in that capacity, something even Nuggets coach Mike Malone did.

“I think now when you go back to Phoenix for a Game 6 and a chance to close it out, I didn't envision us being up by 30 at halftime," said Malone. 

"But it just kind of speaks to our guys understanding that in the close-out game, we did not rely upon having Game 7 in our pocket to go home and play again in front of our fans."

We're hours away from Denver - who holds a 3-1 series lead over Miami - potentially winning the NBA Finals, yet the Suns continue to be mentioned for whatever reason.