The stars are beginning to align for Devin Booker, Chris Paul, and the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns swept the Denver Nuggets 125-118 in Game 4 of their Western Conference semifinals series behind 30-plus point scoring outputs by Paul (37 points) and Booker (34 points) on Sunday.
Paul displayed his mastery of the mid-range game by making six mid-range jumpers in the third quarter. That’s tied for the most made by any player in a playoff quarter over the last 20 seasons, according to ESPN.
“It’s important to me,” said Paul on his mid-range game. “Some years ago, when I played with the Clippers, the whole league went to this drop defense, and I was like if that’s what y’all are going to give up I going to try to perfect it.”
If the Suns’ 3-0 series lead wasn’t enough, the ejection of this year’s MVP Nikola Jokic at the 3:52 mark of the third quarter indicated the end of Denver’s postseason run.
After Jokic didn’t get a foul call on a one-handed runner, he looked at the ref and took a hard swipe at the ball, hitting Cameron Payne in the face. After the hard foul, Booker took exception to the play as a scuffle between him and Jokic broke out. Jokic was handed a flagrant 2 and ejected from the game, Booker received a technical foul.
Jokic became the fifth MVP to be swept in a playoff series, and the first since Magic Johnson in the 1989 Finals against the Pistons. He also became the second MVP to be ejected in the last 25 postseasons, according to ESPN.
“We knew once Joker went out that was just going to open the door for a lot of other guys, we just tried to stay the course,” said Paul in his postgame interview.
After Jokic’s ejection, the Nuggets looked deflated. The Suns’ 7-point lead quickly turned into a 13-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Denver managed to bring that lead to just six points, forcing a Suns timeout at the 3:28 mark of the fourth quarter, but it was short-lived. Paul immediately went on a 7-4 run by himself as the Suns led 116-107.
Afterward, a Deandre Ayton dunk capitalized the Suns’ win as they led 118-107 and closed off any comeback hopes from the Nuggets.
The Suns will now advance to the Western Conference Finals and await the winner of the Clippers and Jazz series.
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