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在线翻译:
szdaily -> Sports -> 
Suns crush Nuggets for 2-0 series lead
    2021-06-11  08:53    Shenzhen Daily

THE Phoenix Suns pulled out a dominant 123-98 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the second-round series.

Chris Paul  had 17 points, Devin Booker added 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Suns.

Paul was particularly impressive and it appears his ailing right shoulder — which greatly limited his play against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round — isn’t much of a problem anymore. The 11-time All-Star had 21 points and 11 assists in Game 1.

Nikola Jokic had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Denver, a day after getting the NBA’s Most Valuable Player award. But the Nuggets couldn’t find anyone else to score consistently, leaving them reeling going back to Denver for Game 3 Friday night.

“This was an embarrassing performance for myself all the way to the last player,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “We are walking out here with our heads held down and rightfully so. There was a reason that their crowd was yelling ”Suns in four!” and they are calling for a sweep because if we play like this in Denver, this is going to be a really quick series.”

Later, Malone added he felt the Nuggets “quit tonight, which is something that you never want to see.”

Jokic said: “They are playing better than us. They are making shots, being more aggressive, finding the open man. It looks real bad out there. We need to change everything.”

Deandre Ayton had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Mikal Bridges added 16 points for the balanced Suns in their fifth straight victory.

The Suns had a 10-point halftime lead and Jae Crowder added a pair of 3-pointers early in the third to make it 60-43. Phoenix took an 86-67 advantage into the fourth. The Suns led by 31 in the final quarter as they relentlessly pushed the ball even as the lead built.

“It’s the NBA — crazy things can happen no matter how big of a lead you have,” Suns forward Torrey Craig said.

Paul pushed the sellout crowd into a frenzy in the fourth, throwing his 15th assist to Craig after criss-crossing around helpless Denver forward Paul Millsap. (SD-Agencies)

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