Devin Booker caught appropriate fire on Cinco de Mayo, Kevin Durant almost addressed that free throw issue by himself and TJ Warren was the unsung hero.
The fourth-seeded Suns led by as many as 16 points and then withstood a third quarter surge from the Nuggets in taking Game 3 Friday night, 121-114, to make this Western Conference semifinals series, 2-1.
If the Suns win Sunday to even the series, there will be a Game 6 Thursday in Phoenix.
Game 7, if necessary, will be Mother’s Day, May 14, in Denver.
NBA: SCOREBOARD | STANDINGS | STATISTICS
The Nuggets were looking to take a 3-0 series lead as no NBA team has ever come back from that deficit to win a series. Down 15 at the half, the Nuggets rallied to go up as many as three in the third quarter, but Phoenix responded with a 14-0 run that began late in the third quarter with a Landry Shamet basket.
Booker ended the third with a 3 to give Phoenix a 90-88 lead going into the fourth.
The Suns extended that run with two Booker baskets sandwiching a 3 from Cameron Payne to put Phoenix up, 97-88, forcing Denver to call a timeout with 10:29 left in the game.
Durant finally capped the game-changing surge with a transition dunk off Payne’s assist, giving the Suns a 99-88 advantage. Denver finally ended with Bruce Brown hitting a free throw with 9:19 left in the game.
Payne got the start for the injured Chris Paul, who suffered a left groin strain in Game 2.
The Nuggets got within five points with 3:04 left before Warren, who has only played in two playoff games before Friday’s Game 3, hit a corner 3 and a baseline jumper to lead 114-107 with 1:41 remaining.
Warren ended the game with seven points. Booker followed up with a bucket to push the lead to nine, forcing Denver to call a timeout with 1:05 left.
Booker set the tone with his 18-point first quarter on 8-of-10 shooting.
He shot 2-of-3 from 3, but Phoenix still trailed by two, 31-29, after one. The Suns stayed hot in the second in outscoring the Nuggets, 38-21, to nearly duplicate what Denver did to them in Game 1.
The Nuggets outscored Phoenix, 37-19 in building a 17-point halftime lead in their 125-107 win in Denver. They connected on 51.9% of their shots, going 5-of-8 from.
Two games later, Phoenix roared to 52% shooting in the second quarter Friday, going 10-of-11 from the line all delivered by Durant.
He ended the first half 11-of-12 as no other Suns player attempted or made a free throw.
The Suns were coming off a 5-of-5 effort in Game 2 with Denver going 18-of-21. The Nuggets have made it a priority to keep the Suns off the line after Phoenix averaged 28.8 attempts (23.2 makes) in eliminating the Clippers in five games in the first round.
Phoenix came into Game 3 just 19-of-22 from the line through two games.
Have an opinion about the 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: TJ Warren unsung hero in Phoenix Suns taking Game 3 over Denver Nuggets