This was Game 7 against Dallas all over again.
For a second straight postseason, Phoenix got blasted in an elimination game on their home court. This time it was courtesy of the Denver Nuggets, 125-100, in Game 6 of this Western Conference semifinals series before a sellout crowd of 17,071, many of whom started leaving Footprint Center at the end of the third quarter.
Last year, Dallas ran through the Suns by 33 points in Game 7 of the West semifinals to abruptly end their historic 64-win season at home.
This year, Denver led by as many as 32 points in the first half, boasted a 30-point halftime lead and cruised to the conference finals for the second time in four years.
Cameron Payne scored a playoff career-high 31 points to lead the fourth-seeded Suns while Kevin Durant added 23.
Payne got the start for Chris Paul, who missed a fourth straight game with a left groin strain suffered in Game 2. Deandre Ayton also was sidelined with a rib contusion suffered in Game 5’s loss in Denver.
Devin Booker scored just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting to nearly mirror his 11-point effort on 3-of-14 shooting in Game 7 against Dallas.
Two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic capped a dominant series against the Suns with a triple double of 32 points on 13-of-18 shooting, 11 assists and 10 rebounds while Jamal Murray went for 26 points after being listed as questionable with a non-COVID illness hours before tip-off.
Jokic posted three triple-doubles in the series that ended in six games.
The Suns led, 24-21, after a Payne 3-pointer with 4:57 left in the first quarter before Denver went on a 23-2 run to take a 44-26 lead going into the second quarter.
That surge was fueled by an 17-0 barrage In the final 2:46 of the quarter. Denver extended it to 19-0 to open the second quarter before Durant hit a jumper with 11:08 remaining in the half.
The Suns now are 0-3 in elimination games in this three-year postseason run starting with Game 6 against Milwaukee in the 2021 NBA Finals.
Phoenix followed that up with the NBA’s best record the following season, but it couldn’t close out Dallas at home.
This year, they pulled off a blockbuster deal for Durant right before the Feb. 9 trade deadline, looked impressive in eliminating the Clippers in five games, but had no answers for Jokic and the No. 1 seeded Nuggets.
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at [email protected] or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns embarrased by Denver Nuggets at home to end season
