National Basketball Association
Denver 128, Phoenix 125
When: 10:30 PM ET, Sunday, December 25, 2022
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #77 Karl Lane, #18 Matt Boland
Attendance: 19642

Nikola Jokic had 41 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists, Aaron Gordon added 28 points and 13 rebounds and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 128-125 in overtime on Sunday night.

Jamal Murray scored 26 points and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 15 for the Nuggets, who have won four straight.

Landry Shamet tied his career high with 31 points for Phoenix. Deandre Ayton had 22 points and 16 rebounds, Chris Paul amassed 17 points and 16 assists, Damion Lee scored 18 and Torrey Craig and Mikal Bridges had 13 points each.

The Suns lost Devin Booker to a groin injury just 4:20 into the game.

Ayton opened overtime with a 14-footer but Denver responded with the next eight points to go ahead 121-115 with 2:30 left. Shamet hit two 3-pointers around one by Caldwell-Pope and Ayton sank a reverse layup to make it 124-123 with 1:02 left.

Shamet missed from deep and fouled Gordon on his seventh dunk of the day. Gordon missed the free throw but was fouled after getting the rebound and made one of two at the line.

Paul hit a jumper, Murray split a pair of free throws, Shamet missed another 3-point attempt and the Nuggets closed it out.

Denver led by 15 early but the Suns rallied to take a 57-51 edge into halftime. Phoenix built a 12-point lead in the third and was ahead 84-81 heading into the fourth.

The Suns led by eight midway through the final period, but Murray rallied the Nuggets to a 108-107 lead with 3:08 left.

Paul hit a 15-footer, Michael Porter Jr. made one of two free throws to tie it and Shamet made a corner 3-pointer to put Phoenix in front with 2:16 to go. Jokic's tip-in made it 112-111 with 1:17 remaining, and Murray missed a 3-point attempt that would have put the Nuggets back in front.

Paul missed on a jump shot with 32 seconds left, Murray misfired on a 21-footer and Ayton split a pair of free throws to make it 113-111 with 15 seconds left. After a timeout, Murray hit a driving dunk to tie it again with 11 seconds left and send the game to overtime.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Phoenix   Denver
Landry Shamet 31 Scoring Nikola Jokic 41
Chris Paul 16 Assists Nikola Jokic 15
Deandre Ayton 16 Rebounds Nikola Jokic 15
Chris Paul 5 Free Throws Made Nikola Jokic 7
Deandre Ayton 2 Steals Bruce Brown 2
Mikal Bridges 4 Blocks Aaron Gordon 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Phoenix 125 47.9 17-35 18-26 32 46 9 7 14
Denver 128 47.9 13-36 25-34 29 48 4 8 13
Upcoming Games
  • Denver will play their next game on the road against Sacramento. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .619 after a win and .727 after a loss.
  • Phoenix will play their next game on the road against Memphis. The Suns have a W/L % of .579 after a win and .533 after a loss.