The NBA is a star-driven league, but the Phoenix Suns have found a different formula that works in the playoffs.
The Suns' balanced attack drove another dominant win on Wednesday, a 123-98 triumph over the Denver Nuggets that gave Phoenix a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semi-final series.
Phoenix had six players score in double figures, with Devin Booker leading the way at a modest 18 points followed by Chris Paul (17), Mikal Bridges (16) and Deandre Ayton (15).
"I think it's an unselfish group. They're willing to make plays for one another. We share the ball – that's part of our DNA," Suns head coach Monty Williams told reporters.
"We don't have the experience that a lot of the playoff teams have, but we've had this year to gel and we've had a lot of close games at home and on the road, so that helps."
Wednesday's game was not close, as Phoenix took the lead early in the first quarter and never looked back, pulling away from Denver in the second half.
After a 51-21 regular season, the Suns have learned they do not have to rely on one or two players for their scoring, and that helps ease the pressure on everyone.
"It's a natural chemistry," said veteran point guard Chris Paul, who had 15 assists and no turnovers.
"I really haven't been on a team like this where everybody shoots it the way that they do, so you don't have to try to find a certain guy."
The 36-year-old floor leader is a big reason for that peace of mind, his coach noted.
"He manages games better than anybody that I've ever been around," Williams said.
"Once he gets an idea of the offence and the guys he's playing with, he has the ability to use his talents to make everybody else better, and then he knows when to take over in moments.
"Guys have to make shots, but Chris is one of the rare guards that can put passes right where they need to be so guys are more effective when they catch the ball. And his ability to take care of the ball, even when he has it a lot, is not something I take for granted.
"That's why he's been successful everywhere he's been."
Coming off their first playoff series win since 2010, the Suns are full of confidence as they head to Denver.
The plan for Friday's Game 3? More of the same, they hope.
"We've got so many great shooters on our team, and guys that can not only shoot it but put it on the floor," Paul said. "We just played the way we've been playing all season long and that's as a team."
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic showed MVP form once again, but the Phoenix Suns used a balanced attack to take a 123-98 victory and a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semi-final series.
Jokic scored the first basket of the game Wednesday, but that was the only lead the Nuggets held as Phoenix took control and never let go in what became an easy win as their home crowd chanted "Suns in four" late in the game.
Chris Paul controlled the game for the Suns, scoring 17 points and dishing out 15 assists without a turnover in his 30 minutes of play -- the third time he has had at least 15 assists with no turnovers in a playoff game.
The 36-year-old Paul now has 72 assists and just 10 turnovers in eight playoff games this season.
Devin Booker added 18 points and 10 rebounds for Phoenix, while Deandre Ayton had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Jokic left the game late in the third quarter with the Nuggets trailing by 20 and did not return, finishing with 24 points, 13 rebounds and six assists in 29 minutes.
Denver did not give him much help, as the rest of their starting lineup made just nine of 32 shots from the field (28.1 per cent).
Michael Porter Jr. was the only other starter to reach double figures, scoring 11 on three of 13 shooting -- including two of nine from three-point range.
The Nuggets made only 14 of 43 (32.6 per cent) from beyond the arc overall, compared to 18 of 38 (47.4 per cent) for Phoenix.
Game 3 of the series is Friday in Denver.
Nets at Bucks
The Brooklyn Nets look for a 3-0 lead on the Bucks as their Eastern Conference semi-final series shifts to Milwaukee on Thursday.
Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert has been voted the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the third time, the league announced Wednesday.
The France native received 84 first-place votes from a global media panel, easily outdistancing Ben Simmons of the Philadephia 76ers for top honours.
Gobert previously won the award in 2017-18 and 2018-19 and is the fourth player to win the award at least three times, joining Dikembe Mutombo (four), Ben Wallace (four) and Dwight Howard (three).
Gobert's Jazz team-mates surprised him with the award, putting the trophy on his chair in the locker room and erupting in cheers when he walked in.
A 7-foot-1 presence in the middle, the Frenchman led the NBA with 10.1 defensive rebounds per game and his 13.5 total rebounds per game were second only to Clint Capela of the Atlanta Hawks (14.3). Gobert also finished second in the league with 2.7 blocked shots per game.
Gobert earned 464 points in the voting, while Simmons had 287 with 15 first-place votes. Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors was third with 76 points, Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat was next with 31 points, including one first-place vote, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks placed fifth with 12 points.
Los Angeles Clippers star Paul George was the subject of harsh treatment from the Utah Jazz fans on Tuesday, though he very nearly took the game to overtime.
The Jazz won Game 1 of the playoff series 112-109 in Salt Lake City, as George – in inspired form in the fourth quarter – almost propelled the visitors to a comeback.
All-Star guard George was wasteful in the earlier stages of the encounter, missing 12 of his first 14 shots, but found his aim in the final quarter, converting 13 points.
His fourth-quarter tally included seven points in the last three minutes, despite the Jazz supporters' "overrated" jeers – George had previously played for Utah's rivals Oklahoma City Thunder.
Yet with fans only just starting to come back in full capacity following the coronavirus pandemic, George had no issues with the chants, but did concede he needs to improve to help the Clippers level the series in Game 2.
"I like it," George said, as reported by ESPN. "That part doesn't get to me. It's all respect. I've had good games here and I've had bad games here.
"That's part of this game, to be honest. The crowd's going to be involved. You want that. As an opposing player, you kind of want that.
"Fact of the matter is, I didn't shoot the ball well. I thought I was indecisive on my approach. But I will be a little bit better on taking the shots that I want."
George finished the game with 20 points in total, 10 rebounds and two assists, and acknowledged that Jazz star Rudy Gobert made life difficult for the Clippers.
"The big fella is really good at just clogging the paint up and just sitting at the rim," George said of Gobert.
"A lot of plays I was just forcing myself trying to get to the basket where he's there waiting for me. So I think just being decisive on the approach of setting up, getting the shots that I want while he's in those coverages."
The most anticipated series of the 2020-21 NBA playoffs has not delivered quite as expected thus far.
The Milwaukee Bucks, having swept the Miami Heat, were backed to provide stern opposition to the Brooklyn Nets' array of superstars.
And when James Harden went down 43 seconds into Game 1, the Bucks must have thought their luck was in.
Instead, they head back home on Wednesday looking to belatedly get on the board, having fallen 2-0 behind in dismal fashion.
The first meeting was at least close, but a 125-86 Game 2 defeat in Brooklyn made unwanted history.
With Harden on the sidelines, the Nets became the first team ever to win a playoff game by 35 or more points while having a former MVP on their roster but missing.
Home comforts alone surely cannot bridge the gap for Milwaukee after such a humbling...
PIVOTAL PERFORMERS
Khris Middleton – Milwaukee Bucks
Optimism around the Bucks centred on a trio of leading men. Only Giannis Antetokounmpo could realistically be compared to any one of the Nets' 'big three', but Middleton and Jrue Holiday each showed their worth against the Heat.
It has been a different story in this round.
After 20.4 points per game in the regular season and 21.5 in the Miami series, that mark has dropped to a mediocre 15.0 through two games on 30.2 per cent shooting.
Regardless of any improvement from Antetokounmpo, who is averaging a solid if unspectacular 26.0 points, the Bucks need the supporting cast to be better.
Blake Griffin – Brooklyn Nets
While the Bucks would have hoped for Middleton to offer more, Griffin is exceeding all expectations in Brooklyn. The six-time All-Star is rebuilding his career.
Griffin has started all seven playoff games this year, having seemingly initially been signed as a bench option, and he had 18 points and 14 rebounds in Game 1.
It appeared the versatile forward refound his mojo the moment he left the Detroit Pistons, though, ending a 25-game drought with a dunk on his debut – one of 18 across the remainder of the regular season.
Griffin has continued these show-stopping contributions into the playoffs, too, with seven more, including one particularly eye-catching effort over Antetokounmpo on Monday.
KEY BATTLE – Durant evading effective defense
Griffin was not the only Net to find joy against Antetokounmpo, with Durant too easily working room to shoot and punish the Bucks in typical fashion. His 61 points lead the series.
Antetokounmpo and Holiday – both previously named to the All-Defensive First Team – might have backed themselves to manage this three-headed monster. So far, they cannot get to grips with just the two.
For as much as the Bucks need more scoring, offense alone cannot beat a team as talented as Brooklyn. Milwaukee actually allowed marginally more points (114.2 per game) than the Nets (114.1) this season and must now find a way to slow them.
HEAD TO HEAD
Of course, very recent history is against the Bucks, even if they had a 2-1 regular-season record in this matchup. The omens are better at Fiserv Forum, where both of the 2020-21 wins came as the Bucks improved to 66-32 at home versus the Nets in the regular season and postseason combined.
Durant is 7-5 at Milwaukee, averaging 26.8 points per game – more than any Buck so far in this series.
Donovan Mitchell starred and Rudy Gobert produced a game-clinching block as the Utah Jazz drew first blood against the Los Angeles Lakers in their Western Conference semi-final opener.
Mitchell dropped 32 of his 45 points in the second half to guide the top-seeded Jazz to a thrilling 112-109 win at home to the Los Angeles Clippers in Game 1 on Tuesday.
Fellow All-Star Gobert – who finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds – came up big at the death, denying Marcus Morris Sr. and his potential game-winning three-pointer.
Kawhi Leonard (23 points) and Paul George (20 points and 10 rebounds) were unable to lift the fourth-seeded Clippers in Utah.
Earlier in the day, a disappointed Joel Embiid had a point to prove as he fuelled the Philadelphia 76ers' 118-102 win over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 2.
Embiid's MVP hopes were dashed by Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who was crowned the league's Most Valuable Player on Tuesday.
Already frustrated following a shock loss to the Hawks in the Eastern Conference semi-final opener, Embiid came out and scored 40 points with 13 rebounds to help level the series.
Embiid became the first 76ers player with 40 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game since Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham in 1970, while his postseason career-high points haul saw him become the first Philadelphia player with 40-plus points in a playoff contest since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson in 2003.
Tobias Harris chipped in with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists for the 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, where he had 16 first-quarter points on eight-for-nine shooting.
It was not all smooth sailing after a fast start as Philadelphia squandered a 21-point advantage – Trae Young's pair of free throws giving Atlanta their first lead in the third quarter, 80-79.
But Shake Milton – who did not play in the first half – stepped up to the plate, scoring 14 points to help withstand Young (21 points and 11 assists) and visiting the Hawks.
Nuggets at Suns
In the only game on Wednesday, the second-seeded Phoenix Suns will look to claim a 2-0 lead over the Nuggets in the Western Conference second round.
Joel Embiid expressed his disappointment after losing out to Nikola Jokic in the MVP race, though the Philadelphia 76ers star insisted "if and when I'm holding that trophy, anything else won't matter" in pursuit of an NBA championship.
Denver Nuggets star Jokic was crowned the league's Most Valuable Player on Tuesday with 91 first-place votes and 971 total points, ahead of runner-up Embiid (586).
In response to the snub, Embiid posted 40 points and 13 rebounds to lead the 76ers past the Atlanta Hawks 118-102 as the top seeds levelled the Eastern Conference semi-final series at 1-1.
Embiid became the first 76ers player with 40 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game since Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham in 1970, while his postseason career-high points haul saw him become the first Philadelphia player with 40-plus points in a playoff contest since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson in 2003.
Reacting to Jokic's MVP victory, Embiid – who missed game time during the regular season due to a knee injury – told reporters following Game 2: "There's only some things I can control. Obviously, we as a team we had a good year and I was a part of it.
"It's disappointing because as a player, you worked hard for moments like this, but then again, it's out of my control. There's nothing I can do about it. I just got to come out every year, and just be ready and do my job."
Embiid, who has been dealing with a small meniscus tear as the 76ers chase their first NBA title since 1983, added: "I'm focused on the playoffs, focused on winning the championship.
"I've been saying all season we got a good chance, so I'm not worried about those awards and stuff. If and when I'm holding that trophy, anything else won't matter."
Tobias Harris chipped in with 22 points, six rebounds and four assists for the 76ers at Wells Fargo Center, where he had 16 first-quarter points on eight-for-nine shooting.
"We're not really worried about that," Harris said in response to Embiid missing out on MVP honours. "Jokic had a great year. Congrats on MVP for him.
"Joel Embiid has had a great year, he's been the MVP for our team. Obviously, there was a period of time where he didn't play X amount of games. I think that played a factor into it, but we get to the Finals and that's the goal for our team. Go get the MVP there so that's just our mentality. We don't only focus on those things anymore."
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