Nuggets Dominate as Suns Struggle Without Key Players
It was another rough night for the Phoenix Suns, who found themselves on the wrong end of a 133–111 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night at Ball Arena. The Suns were already shorthanded going into this one, missing both Jalen Green — still sidelined with a right hamstring strain — and center Mark Williams, who was held out due to right knee injury management.
This absence came at a difficult time, as Williams had only just started ramping up his minutes. After playing 24 minutes in the season opener and 14 the following night against the Clippers, he was ruled out of the Denver matchup as part of a cautious plan to manage his recovery. Head coach Jordan Ott had mentioned earlier in the week that Williams’ workload would be evaluated game by game, especially with the Suns facing back-to-back contests.
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Without their full lineup, Phoenix had to rely on the same starting five: Devin Booker, Grayson Allen, Dillon Brooks, Ryan Dunn, and Oso Ighodaro. On the other side, Denver was healthy and ready, led by Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and, of course, Nikola Jokić — the ever-dominant centerpiece of the Nuggets’ offense.
From the start, the Nuggets came out firing, jumping to an 11–3 lead. Jamal Murray hit a ridiculous half-court buzzer-beater to end the first quarter, giving Denver a 34–28 edge. By halftime, the Suns’ defensive woes continued, as they trailed 71–54 — marking the third straight game they had allowed over 70 points in the first half. Denver’s ball movement was fluid, with Jokić dishing out 11 assists before the break, even without taking many shots himself.
Phoenix tried to mount a comeback in the third quarter, going on a 10–0 run to cut the deficit to 10 points. Booker led the charge, scoring 14 of his game-high 31 points in that stretch. But turnovers — a persistent issue all night — proved costly. Denver quickly steadied the game and built the lead back up, with all five of their starters finishing in double figures. Murray led the Nuggets with 23 points, while Jokić put together another trademark triple-double: 14 points, 15 assists, and 14 rebounds.
Despite Booker’s strong outing and Dillon Brooks’ gritty defense — he added 15 points and four steals — the Suns simply couldn’t keep pace. Grayson Allen chipped in 17 points and five assists, but Phoenix lacked depth and defensive stability.
The loss drops the Suns to 1–2 on the season, while Denver improves to 1–1, bouncing back from an overtime loss to the Warriors in their opener. Phoenix will now wrap up their road trip on Monday against the Utah Jazz, hoping to regroup and possibly get healthier — because against a team like the Nuggets, being even slightly undermanned can make all the difference.
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