Nikola Jokić and the Nuggets absolutely dominated the shorthanded Phoenix Suns on Thursday night to officially secure their spot in the Western Conference finals. The Nuggets flew to an easy 125-100 blowout win over the Suns at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, which closed out their Western Conference semifinals series 4-2. It was the largest margin of victory by any road team so far this postseason.
Jokić — who had his 10th career playoff triple-double in their Game 5 win, which set an NBA record for a center — led the Nuggets with 32 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds on Thursday. He’s the first player to have three triple-doubles in the same playoff series since Russell Westbrook did in 2017. Jamal Murray added 26 points, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope finished with 21 points. They shot almost 54% from the field as a team, too.
Durant finished with 23 points, and ended up shooting 8-of-19 from the field. Cameron Payne dropped 31 points after shooting 7-of-9 from behind the arc. Devin Booker finished with 12 points and 8 assists, and shot just 4-of-13 from the field.
The Nuggets will now await the winner of the “California State Championship” series in the conference finals. The Lakers hold a 3-2 series lead over the Golden State Warriors headed into Game 6 of their series on Friday night.
WESTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: GAME 6
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🎟️ https://t.co/Rj1m0UWjmZ pic.twitter.com/jCTDi1npAd— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) May 11, 2023
Nikola Jokic averaged a triple-double vs. the Suns as the Nuggets advance to the Western Conference Finals 🔥
24 PTS – 19 REBS – 5 ASTS – 43% FG
39 PTS – 16 REBS – 5 ASTS – 57% FG
30 PTS – 17 REBS – 17 ASTS – 58% FG
53 PTS – 4 REBS – 11 ASTS – 67% FG
29 PTS – 13 REBS – 12 ASTS -… pic.twitter.com/gIKvXk7gxz— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) May 12, 2023