NBA Game Notes (April 29, 2023)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on April 29, 2023.
Murray Leads Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets outscored the Phoenix Suns 37-19 in the second quarter to open up a 17-point halftime lead, then cruised to a 125-107 victory in Game 1 of their Western Conference Semifinals series. The teams will remain in Denver for Game 2 on Monday.
The Nuggets’ Jamal Murray scored a game-high 34 points, shooting 13-24 from the field with six 3-pointers made. Murray also tallied a game-high nine assists, five rebounds, and two steals.
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic produced 24 points, 19 rebounds, and five assists. It’s the 25th time Jokic has recorded at least 20 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in a playoff game. The only other active players to reach that mark are LeBron James (90) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (26).
Aaron Gordon was the third Nugget to record a 20-point game, scoring 23 points on 9-13 shooting from the floor. Gordon is averaging 15.0 PPG with 54/44/90 shooting splits this postseason, and has committed just six turnovers in 202 minutes played.
The Suns’ Kevin Durant scored a team-high 29 points in the loss, hitting 12 of his 19 attempts from the field. Durant also grabbed a team-high 14 rebounds and blocked a game-high three shots.
Durant has scored at least 25 points while shooting better than 50% from the field in each of his last five games, the longest such postseason streak in franchise history. No other player has recorded more than three such games in a row.
Teammate Devin Booker scored 27 points, dished out a team-high eight assists, and recorded two blocks. Booker shot 10-19 from the floor and made seven of his eight free throws.
Durant and Booker have each scored at least 25 points in all six games this postseason. They are the first duo in NBA history to open a postseason with six such games in a row. Durant and Booker also tied Steve Nash (May 13-24, 2005) for the most consecutive 25-point playoff games in franchise history.