Chris Paul helps Phoenix dominate Denver in Game 2, take 2-0 series lead
The Phoenix Suns pulled out a dominant 123-98 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the second-round series. The victory was the fifth straight for Phoenix this postseason. Chris Paul led the way for the Suns with 17 points, 15 assists and zero turnovers. Paul’s assist-to-turnover ratio in the series is now a staggering 26-1. Devin Booker also added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the surging Suns.
Phoenix appeared to be a step faster than Denver on both ends of the floor in the second game, as it got virtually whatever it wanted on the offensive end while simultaneously making things difficult defensively for Denver. All five Suns starters scored in double figures, compared to only two for the Nuggets’ first five. Freshly minted MVP Nikola Jokic paced the Nuggets with 24 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, but his production wasn’t nearly enough, especially with minimal help from the guys around him. Moving forward, Nuggets coach Mike Malone is going to have to figure out a way to get his team going, particularly Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr., who combined for just 17 points on 6-of-20 shooting in Game 2.
The only good news for the Nuggets right now is that the series if about to shift to Denver for Games 3 and 4. There, the Nuggets will obviously look to play better than they were able to do in Phoenix. Unfortunately for Denver, the math isn’t on its side. A total of 430 playoff series have started 2-0, and only 28 times has the team that gained the early advantage failed to win the series, per Land of Basketball. That’s less than seven percent of the time. The most recent example of this occurred in the first round this year, as the Los Angeles Clippers bested the Dallas Mavericks in seven games after dropping the first two games of the series. So, it’s not an impossible feat, but it is an unlikely one. The Nuggets …