Denver Nuggets (45-28) beat Phoenix Suns (40-33) 125-123 on the road on Tuesday, March 24 in a game that stayed within 10 points at every quarter break.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Suns struck first, taking the opening quarter 35-28 and a 7-point lead after one. The Nuggets moved in front with a 39-22 second quarter, carrying a 10-point lead into halftime.
The Suns won the third 38-30 to stay in front, taking a 2-point lead into the fourth. The teams matched each other with 28 points apiece in the fourth quarter, and the Nuggets closed regulation with a 125-123 lead.
The edge that mattered
The Nuggets grabbed 31.1% of their own misses, while the Suns recovered 21.7%. The Nuggets got more from their shots, finishing at 58.5% effective field-goal shooting compared with 53.4% for the Suns. In a 2-point game, the second chances kept adding up.
The Suns did win one battle, ball security: TOV% of 3.1 against 9.4. The Nuggets made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 97 possessions per team, the Nuggets produced 128.5 points per 100 possessions to 126.5 for the Suns.
Who made the difference
Nikola Jokic was the game's biggest individual force for DEN: 23 pts, 17 reb, 17 ast on 9-16 shooting. His Game Score of 29.6 led everyone. His team was -5 with him on the floor.
Royce O'Neale led the Suns with 17 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk on 5-8 shooting, good for a 19.3 Game Score.
Nikola Jokic (23 pts, 17 reb, 17 ast) recorded a double-double.
What it means
The pre-game Win Meter had it close to a coin flip, at about 46% for the Nuggets.
Across the last 6 meetings in our records, Denver Nuggets lead 5-1.
The Nuggets are now 45-28, and the Suns are 40-33. The Nuggets last five before this game: L-W-L-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.