The Phoenix Suns pulled away from the Denver Nuggets in the second-half of Game 1 in this Western Conference Semifinals series, but Game 2 was all Suns from start-to-finish. Between the entire Suns’ starting lineup scoring in double-figures yet again, to the Suns’ arena rocking all 48-minutes of this game, Game 2 was complete domination by Phoenix as they took down the Nuggets 123-98 to take a 2-0 lead in this NBA playoff series as things now shift to Denver.
Through the first two games in this series, the Suns have taken care of business with their home court advantage, but they have completely dismantled Denver to this point. Much like how the Nets have dominated the Bucks to this point in their series in the Eastern Conference, the Suns have controlled everything about this series with Denver.
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In Game 2 specifically, the Nuggets looked lost out there on the court and when things were not going their way, they seemed to give up. Their body language was terrible throughout the entire game and the Nuggets allowed their frustrations to get the most of them.
Phoenix wanted Denver to take contested jump shots and stay out of the lane and the Nuggets did just that. Their lack of aggressiveness led them to trying to catch the Suns in transition, which was a recipe for disaster!
The recently named 2020-21 NBA MVP, Nikola Jokic, put together another solid performance, scoring 24 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out 6 assists, but the Nuggets had no sense of urgency all game long and it looked like they were just playing pick-up basketball at the park. This is the NBA Playoffs and they are one of four teams left fighting for a Western Conference championship!
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Denver just looks exhausted and they look mentally freid right now, so hopefully for their sake, going back home for the next two games gives them some energy. Their backs are up against the wall right now and if they come out with the same mentality in Game 3, then this series is a wrap!
Both games in Phoenix have told us a lot about each team’s approach to one another and while Denver has shown some flashes of greatness in this series, we are going to need to see more consistency from everyone on their roster in Game 3 if they are going to have a chance to even up this series. Now, let’s take a look at the three biggest takeaways from Phoenix’s Game 2 victory and from this series so far.
