Game Report: Deteriorating offense leaves Suns short in Denver

The Phoenix Suns have suffered their second loss of the preseason, falling to the Denver Nuggets 107-105 in a back-and-forth battle on Monday night. The teams traded blows down the stretch before a pair of Ish Smith jumpshots proved the tonic for Denver’s comeback win.

Both teams entered the game undermanned — Denver were without four starters in Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, while Phoenix were without Cameron Johnson, Cameron Payne, Landry Shamet and Dario Saric.

The Phoenix Suns have moved to 1-2 in the preseason, with a detorietiang offensive display to blame for the two-point loss against the Denver Nuggets.

The Suns began scorching hot from three, shooting 7-for-10 from deep on their way to 35 first quarter points. Mikal Bridges led the way with three of those triples, with Deandre Ayton adding eight points and five rebounds in the opening period.

The bench units went toe-to-toe in the second, with both teams failing to remain as efficient as in the first. Phoenix attempted to junk things up defensively for large stretches, their zone proving largely effective as it forced a host of Denver jumpshots.

Ayton returned and continued to make mincemeat of Deandre Jordan, even if the veteran center was active himself on the boards. Phoenix also found themselves in the bonus relatively early in the quarter, allowing them to make up for diminished shooting from the field. Ayton’s 15 points and Bridges’ 12 propelled them to a five-point advantage at half time.

The Suns were unable to gain real assurgency in the third either, with the Nuggets continuing to hang around in annoying fashion. Devin Booker’s tough shooting night continued as Monty Williams utilised he, Ayton, Bridges and Chris Paul for the entirety of the third.

Both teams struggled offensively and at one stage, the Suns had missed 12 three-pointers in a row dating back to the first quarter. Booker finished 5-for-17 from the floor, though he went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line for 20 points on the night.

Phoenix headed to the fourth with a three-point lead, but without the shooting of Shamet to spearhead the bench, their fourth-quarter lineups looked bereft of offense. Denver retook the lead for the first time since the second quarter, before the teams went back and forth in the closing minutes.

The Nuggets appeared to want it more down the stretch, holding a five-point lead that should have been more if not for some wayward shooting from the stripe. Jock Landale then revitalised the Suns with a series of big plays, inclusive of a three-pointer, block, steal and transition alley-oop dunk.

The Suns maintained a two-point advantage till the last 40 seconds, before Smith’s midrange jumpers gave Denver the edge and the victory. After an efficient display early, Phoenix finished shooting just 42.7% from the field and 32.4% from three-point range.

Booker’s 20 led the Suns in scoring, although Ayton’s 19-point double-double may have been the most impressive individual performance of the evening. Phoenix round out their preseason back home at Footprint Center against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.

More post-game reaction to come on Valley of the Suns across the next 24 hours.