The Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns play Sunday at 5 p.m. BST at the Footprint Center in Phoenix in Game 4 of the NBA Semifinals playoff series.
The Nuggets enter the game with a 2-1 series lead. Follow score updates and game analysis.
The Suns take the lead in the half of Game 4 versus the Nuggets
This was quite the first half in Phoenix, featuring an incident between Nikola Jokic and a Suns fan, who happened to be team owner Matt Ichpeia.
Phoenix led 63-61 at halftime.
Jokic leads all scorers with 24 points. Kevin Durant has 21 players and Devin Booker has 19 players for the Phoenix.
The Nuggets were 24-for-44 from the field in the first half. The Sun was 23 for 46.
a result: Suns 63, Nuggets 61 (first half)
Nikola Jokic pushes Suns owner Matt Ishpia to the sidelines
Well, that was fun. Nuggets star Nikola Jokic shoved Suns owner Matt Ishpia as he tried to recover the ball from the sidelines in a bizarre game after Josh Okoji fell out of bounds.
Jokic was called upon to perform a non-sporting art in the play. A fan (not Ishpea) was sent off from the match for calling Jokic.
This is the sequence:
more:Who is Matt Ashpea? Meet the new majority owner of the Phoenix Suns
Devin Booker stays hot for the Suns vs. the Nuggets
Devin Booker on his way to the sun.
The Suns star started the game 8-for-9 from the field for 19 points. His only foul on goal was from 3 points.
But Nikola Jokic matches Booker. He reached 20 points in the game, after scoring 11 consecutive points for Denver. He is 8-for-12 from the field.
a result: Shams 54, Nuggets 54 (2:50 left in the second quarter)
Fouls piled up in the first half of Suns vs. Nuggets 4
Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic, and Jeff Green each had two fouls on the Nuggets, while Bruce Brown had three.
TJ Warren, Jock Landale, and Cameron Payne each have two for the Phoenix team.
The Nuggets commit 10 team fouls. The suns have nine.
Denver is 5-for-7 from the free throw line. Phoenix 10 vs 14.
a result: Shams 51, Nuggets 49 (4:40 left in the second quarter)
Kevin Durant stars for the Suns in Game 4 against the Nuggets
Kevin Durant was ineffective for the Suns in game three on Friday.
He looks more like his normal self in Game 4.
Durant has 14 points so far in the game, but more importantly he’s 4-for-8 from the court after really struggling in Game 3.
He is still aggressive and is a 5-for-6 from the free throw line.
The Suns rested Devin Booker for the first four minutes of the second quarter.
a result: Shams 43, Nuggets 43 (7:18 left in the second quarter)
A quick timeout by the Nuggets in the second quarter
The Nuggets called a quick timeout in the second quarter, as head coach Michael Malone looked to try to stem some of the momentum the Suns were building.
Jock Landale had a chance to run back for the Suns to continue his recent solid play off the bench with Phoenix. He also has two rebounds, an assist and a steal.
a result: Nuggets 37, Suns 35 (10:09 left in the second quarter)
The Suns Nuggets lead after the first quarter of Game 4 in Phoenix
The Nuggets have a 34-32 lead over the Suns at the end of the first quarter at the Footprint Center, but the Suns have plenty of momentum after going down by nine points earlier in the quarter.
Kevin Durant hit a shot as time expired in the quarter for the Phoenix Wrestling to a two-point lead.
Durant scored 11 points for the Suns in the third quarter, 3-for-7. Devin Booker had 13 points on a 5-for-6 shooting.
Nikola Jokic scored nine points to lead the Nuggets, while Michael Porter and Jamal Murray scored seven points each.
a result: Nuggets 34, Sun 32 (end of the first quarter)
The Nuggets keep running against the Suns in the first quarter
The Nuggets built a nine-point lead over the Suns in the first quarter.
Phoenix is pushing the tempo in the game, which should favor the Suns, as they try to make this a track meet and wear out the Nuggets. But so far, Denver is doing well with the up-tempo game.
Kevin Durant once again hits the free throw line for Phoenix, he’s 4-for-5 there in the game so far.
Denver is 12-for-22 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3 points. Phoenix shoots just 6-for-17 from the field and 1-for-4 from 3-point range.
a result: Nuggets 28, Suns 19 (3:10 left in the first quarter)
Devin Booker, Kevin Durant start the fast with the Suns
Will Devin Booker and Kevin Durant pitch again for the Suns in Game 4?
The Suns duo combined for 11 of the team’s first 13 points early on, with Booker scoring six and Durant five.
Josh Okoji has two more points for Phoenix.
The Nuggets have four players who have scored goals so far, including Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic with four, and Michael Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with two each.
a result: Shams 13, Nuggets 12 (6:36 left in the first quarter)
Deandre Ayton stars in the Suns’ first acquisition
After a lackluster Game 3, it didn’t take long for Deandre Ayton to establish himself in the Game 4 of the Suns vs. Nuggets.
He grabbed three offensive rebounds on the first possession of the game.
Not a bad start for the big guy at Phoenix, who received a lot of criticism for his efforts in Game 3 (or lack of effort?).
Can Ayton put together a big game for the Suns? This would go a long way in determining whether Phoenix returns to Denver for Game 5 and is tied 2-2 in the series, or goes down 3-1.
a result: Shams 7, Nuggets 4 (8:41 left in the first quarter)
Suns, Nuggets starting lineups in Game 4
There are no surprises in the 4 of the Suns vs. The Nuggets NBA Playoffs at the Imprint Center in Phoenix on Sunday night.
The Suns’ Josh Okoji and Kevin Durant will start at the forward positions, DeAndre Ayton at center and Devin Booker and Cameron Payne as guards.
The Nuggets head out with Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon as forwards, Nikola Jokic at center, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jamaal Murray as guards.
the The Suns vs. Nuggets on Sunday on TNT.
You can check out the full schedule for the Suns vs. Nuggets NBA Playoffs are here.
USA TODAY Sports’ Sportsbook Wire took the Suns’ game 3 winning streak, 114-113.
He writes: “The 113.6 points a game the Suns score is only 1.1 more points than the Nuggets allow (112.5). When Phoenix scores more than 112.5 points, it’s 31-11-2 against the spread and 34-10 overall. Denver is 36- 11-1 against the difference and 40-8 overall when you allow fewer than 113.6 points. The Nuggets average 115.8 points per game, just 4.2 more points than the 111.6 the Suns allow.”
You can see other selections and predictions for the contest here.
According to Typical sports book.
Phoenix is -115 on the money line, while Denver is -105.
The game’s over/under is set at 225.5 points.
You can see more Suns vs. NBA Playoffs are here.
Read the Nuggets vs. Suns Game 4
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Reach out to Jeremy Clough jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @tweet
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