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The Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets squared off tonight in game 4 of their series, in what turned out to be one of the most emotional, controversial and intense playoff battles of the 2021 NBA postseason.
With 3:52 remaining in the 3rd quarter, Nuggets' superstar center and the NBA's 2021 MVP, Nikola Jokic, was ejected following a hard foul on the Suns' backup point guard Cameron Payne.
Despite Jokic's ejection, Denver fought, battled, and kept game 4 competitive, even pulling within four points of Phoenix with 8:01 left in the 4th quarter after being down by 13 heading into the final quarter.
Ultimately, though, Phoenix's Devin Booker and Chris Paul's firepower became too much to handle for Denver as the Suns pulled away with a series-clinching 125-118 victory in Denver.
As a result, the Suns completed a second-round sweep over Jokic and the Nuggets, thus advancing to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 2010.
Let's dive into the 5 main reasons as to why the Phoenix Suns were able to bring the brooms out against the Denver Nuggets in Game 4.
#1 Jae Crowder rejects a playoff-high four shots
Although Jae Crowder was the only Suns starter not to score more than 10 points, Crowder made a sizable imprint on game 4, grabbing 10 rebounds as well as knocking down a team-high two three-pointers.
Crowder was also a critical factor in the Suns' quality defense tonight, rejecting a postseason career-high four of Phoenix's 6 blocks overall. Additionally, Crowder outblocked the entire Nuggets team in Game 4, 4-3.
#2 Suns dominate the glass
In game 3, the Nuggets killed Phoenix on the glass. Denver outrebounded Phoenix 46-38. Denver also dominated Phoenix in staggering fashion on the offensive glass by 18-4.
It seemed like Phoenix headed into game 4 with that in the back of their minds, as they looked to be more locked in as a unit on rebounding better as a team instead of solely relying on Deandre Ayton. You can surmise this because the Suns outrebounded the Nuggets by 11, 48-37.
Furthermore, the Suns' starting five grabbed a combined 37 rebounds, the same number as the Nuggets' entire team, which included a game-high 11 rebounds from Devin Booker and 10 rebounds from Crowder.
#3 Jokic gets ejected
Even though Phoenix won games 1 to 3 over Denver in convincing fashion, with Jokic playing at least 30+ minutes in all three matchups, you can't say with certainty that Phoenix would have finished off Denver regardless of Jokic playing the 4th quarter or not.
When Jokic was ejected with 3:52 left in the 3rd quarter, Phoenix led Denver 83-75. Phoenix then went onto outscore Denver 13-8 to go into the 4th quarter with a 96-83 lead.
Despite a spirited effort from Denver during the 4th quarter to keep their postseason hopes alive, the Nuggets offense became stagnant and lethargic without Jokic during a critical stretch. After a hook shot by Denver's JaVale McGee landed with 5:04 left to make the score 109-103, the Nuggets didn't score another field goal until the 2:08 which came via a Michael Porter Jr. dunk.
By that point, game 4 was all but over as the Suns held a 114-105 lead and had all the momentum heading into the final two minutes of the game.
#4 Phoenix was incredibly efficient from the field
One of the main factors behind Phoenix's wildly successful season and postseason thus far has been their high efficiency on the offensive end. Game 4 tonight was no different for the Suns as they shot over 50% from the field for the fourth time in their last five postseason games.
Despite Denver attempting 98 shots to Phoenix's 85, the Suns followed a common strategy implemented in every team sport imaginable, "Great defense leads to great offense."
Phoenix's quality defense led Denver to only converting 45 of their 98 field goals attempted (46%). Meanwhile, Phoenix knocked down 44 of their 85 field goals attempted (52%).
#5 Devin Booker & CP3 were phenominal
As they've been all series long, Devin Booker and the Point God, Chris Paul, were nothing short of exemplary tonight in multiple periods of game 4.
Booker finished the night with 34 points, tied with Jokic for a game-high 11 rebounds and 4 assists. Booker also shot 11/25 (44%) from the field, and went 10/11 (90.9%) at the charity stripe.
On the other hand, CP3, despite not attempting a single three-pointer, finished with a game-high 37 points and 7 assists and a team-high two steals. Additionally, Paul was ultra-efficient 14/19 (73.6%) from the field and a perfect 9/9 (100%) from the free throw line.
It was clear the Suns' starting backcourt saved their best performances for the last. Game 4 was the first time during the series that both Booker and Paul scored 30+ points in a single game.
The Phoenix Suns are now headed to the 2021 Western Conference Finals, their first WCF since 2010, where they'll await the winner of the (4) LAC vs. (1) UTA second-round matchup.
