Initial thoughts from the Nuggets’ 121-114 loss to the Suns in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

Nuggets missed key 3-pointers down the stretch: The Nuggets’ 3-point shooting in the fourth quarter prevented them from pulling off a comeback and taking complete control of the series. Trailing by nine points in the middle of the fourth, Michael Porter Jr. pump-faked then missed a 3-pointer. Moments later, Bruce Brown watched a wide-open 3-pointer bounce off the rim. Just after Nikola Jokic cut the Suns’ lead down to 109-104, Jamal Murray missed a 3-pointer, and added another miss from deep soon after that. The Nuggets simply ran out of gas in the fourth and the Suns took advantage.

Devin Booker stole the night: It was Devin Booker’s world and the Nuggets were living in it Friday night. Booker was getting anything he wanted on the floor. He was knocking down stepback jumpers, pulling up from the 3-point line, and driving down the lane for layups. In the second quarter when Booker dribbled down the floor before pushing off Michael Porter Jr. for a one-legged fadeaway jumper, it was evident that there was little the Nuggets could do to slow him down. Yes, Murray (32 points) was elite early. But Booker, who finished with 45 points, was on another level.

Throw that MPJ dunk on a poster: The Suns won but Michael Porter Jr. delivered the highlight of the night. With the Nuggets down 112-104 with 2:11 left in regulation, Jokic beautifully slipped a bounce pass to Porter, who rose up and threw down a powerful one-handed dunk over Kevin Durant while drawing the foul. Even though Phoenix held a lead, Porter’s dunk briefly silenced the home crowd. On a night when Denver went home a loser, that was about as good as it got.

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