Jamal Murray scored 20 of his game-high 34 points in the second half and added nine assists, Nikola Jokic had 24 points and 19 rebounds and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 125-107 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals on Saturday night.
Aaron Gordon scored 23 points, Bruce Brown finished with 14 points off the bench, Michael Porter Jr. added 11 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 10 for the Nuggets in taking the 1-0 series lead.
Game 2 is tonight in Denver, where the Nuggets have yet to lose in this year’s playoffs.