Mudiay, Booker steal spotlight, Denver Nuggets hammer Phoenix Suns 116-98

It was a couple of rookie guards who stole the show this time as both Devin Booker (35 points) and Emmanuel Mudiay (30 points) set career highs in points in the Denver Nuggets’ 116-98 victory and third straight win overall.

Other than a brief Suns run in the third quarter that saw Phoenix take a couple of one-point leads, the Nuggets were in control for most of the night and took advantage of a Suns team coming off of a blowout loss to the New York Knicks in Phoenix the night before. The win gives the Nuggets their fourth of the month as well as fourth in their first six games of a seven-game homestand.

When/Where

Thursday, March 10, 2016 at Pepsi Center – Denver, CO

Star of the Game

Emmanuel Mudiay – Mudiay had his best offensive game as a Nugget, scoring from behind the arc (4-7), in the paint, and everywhere in between as he finished with a career high 30 points on 13-20 shooting and a +20 rating on the night. He finished with 5 assists and 4 turnovers, but had a number of passes that led to teammates free throws and three of his four turnovers happened early in the first quarter.

The perimeter shooting is great to see, but it was his midrange jumpers and ability to finish in the paint, especially the beautiful reverse layups, that showed just how much his game has developed throughout the season. It’s exciting to think about what Mudiay will bring to this team after a full offseason of working on his game with the Nuggets coaching staff.

Turning Point

Head coach Michael Malone called a timeout with 5:22 left in the 4th quarter and the Nuggets leading by just seven points. Coming out of the timeout, Nikola Jokic found Gary Harris and Darrell Arthur in the paint for easy lay-ins, extending the Nuggets lead to 11 points and putting the game out of reach. The legend of “Magic” Jokic continues.
Pretty pass to Harris on the backdoor cut:

Follow-up dime to DA down low:

The Beast is Back

Jusuf Nurkic saw his first court time since February 21st, and while he only saw the court for 4.5 minutes in his first action in nine games, he did the things that Nuggets fans have come to expect from him, scoring 2 points, grabbing 3 rebounds, picking up 2 steals, 1 block and even a signature offensive foul in his limited time.

The thing that doesn’t show up in the box score is how his presence in the paint helped mitigate the Suns ability to dominate on the boards with 7-footers Alex Len and Tyson Chandler. Even if it was just four minutes, it was great to see the Bosnian Beast back on the court, and hopefully it’s a sign of things to come down the stretch.

3rd Quarter Woes

The Nuggets entered the second half with a 14 point lead and saw that chipped away over the next nine minutes as the Suns eventually snagged a couple of one-point leads. An unlikely pair of back-to-back 3-pointers from Will Barton and DJ Augustin helped the Nuggets save face as they capped an 11-2 run for Denver to close the quarter with an 82-74 lead.

The first half of the fourth quarter was more of the back-and-forth battle from the third quarter and it wasn’t until rookies Nikola Jokic and Emmanuel Mudiay took over the game late that the Nuggets were able to breathe easy. There haven’t been many blowout games for the team this season, so it was good to see some garbage time minutes in a Nuggets win despite letting the Suns get back into the game in the second half.

Toupane’s Time to Shine

Axel Toupane had his best game as a Nugget scoring 10 points, hitting 2-4 from long range and adding two assists and two rebounds in his 15 minutes of playing time. More important than his offensive contributions though was his ability to play solid one-on-one as well as team defense. If Toupane can play defensively like he did tonight while consistently knocking down 3-pointers and stretching the floor, he definitely has a future in the NBA.

Plays of the Game

Gary Harris with his signature steal-leading-to-dunk play:

Nikola Jokic with one of his three first quarter blocks, this one on Alex Len, who ended up shooting 2-13 on the night:

Will Barton’s NASTY drive and dunk, doing his damage in the second quarter tonight:

By the Numbers

Here is Emmanuel Mudiay’s shot chart entering tonight’s game:

And his shot chart from tonight’s game:

Quote of the Game

“I’m just working on my game every day, being a student of the game … coach asked me to attack more, so that’s what I did.” -Emmanuel Mudiay on his career night.

Lasting Impact

The Nuggets continue their winning ways in March, picking up their fourth with in five games in the month and improve to 4-2 on their current homestand with one game left. Their only losses on this stretch of games at Pepsi Center are a seven point loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Leap Day and yet another heartbreaker against the Brooklyn Nets in overtime.

After Saturday’s homestand finale against the Wizards, the Nuggets will be on the road for nine of their next 11 games, so it will be difficult for the team to continue their current pace, but a good test of the team’s resolve on the road.

Hopefully it’s the first of many 30-point night’s for the Nuggets’ budding star, but here is one final highlight to leave you with as Mudiay hits a pull-up three to close out his scoring on the night:

Up Next

Saturday, March 12 vs. Washington Wizards, 7:30 p.m. MST