Kevin Durant put on a show with his 36 points and 11 rebounds in a crucial Game 4 win over the Suns, but he was arguably the third-best player on the floor on the night.
The best individual performance came from Nikola Jokic, as he dropped 53 points and 11 assists in a loss for his Nuggets. Durant was left amazed and broke down the magic with which Jokic played tonight.
“He’s ridiculous. I feel like all of them shots were easy shots. He plays the game at a pace where you just can’t speed him up or fluster him. He’s strong, he can make every shot. I hate it when he makes shots because he’s so unorthodox. It’s like ‘Oh yeah, that’s a miss’ and it goes straight in. He’s incredible. He carried them all night scoring the ball. He and Jamal (Murray) do a great job in that pick-and-roll, it’s tough to stop. We just play extremely well, you’re not gonna stop these guys. Efficient players, but we played hard and made up for it.”
"Yeah he's ridiculous."
Kevin Durant when asked about Nikola Jokic's 53-point night in Game 4 🔊#NBAPlayoffs presented by @GooglePixel_US pic.twitter.com/OPoDhSqfXd
— NBA (@NBA) May 8, 2023
More scoring wouldn’t have helped Denver on the night, as they just couldn’t get stops. A 124-129 game seems like a regular season box score but it’s a result of two of the most exciting offensive teams in the league going up against each other. The rest of the series will come down to which team can get more stops, as defense is going to be the decisive factor in the series.
Can Denver Lock Up Phoenix?
The Nuggets could’ve won the game if Michael Porter Jr. was scoring more or if Jokic didn’t miss a late-game equalizer, but defense is the real culprit. The Nuggets’ defense has no answer for Devin Booker, who has been mercilessly scoring on them this series. Kevin Durant started the series slow but has picked up the offensive pace and is putting a lot of pressure on Denver.
We saw the Nuggets restrict the Suns to under 90 points in Game 2, a game they had to defend their butts off to win. Their shooting had abandoned them that game and defense was their only course to victory. They need to find that defensive mindset again, with Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Bruce Brown as their primary keys to success on that front.
With the series headed back to Denver for Game 5, the Nuggets can’t afford to let the Suns breathe. They need to attack from the opening tip and use the high altitude to wear out Phoenix before they can get hot and outscore them.
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