Phoenix Suns vs Denver Nuggets player stats and box score for Oct. 13 | 2024 NBA preseason

The Phoenix Suns traveled to the Mile High City on Sunday to face the Denver Nuggets. Phoenix, which lost 109-91 in Detroit to the Pistons, bounced back with a 118-114 victory without Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker. Ryan Dunn led the Suns' impressive win with 20 points, hitting 6-for-11 3-pointers.

The Nuggets, which lost to the Boston Celtics twice in Abu Dhabi to open the 2024 NBA preseason games, suffered their third straight loss. Nikola Jokic put on a show, finishing with 21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists in 30 minutes. Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun also played well.

Jamal Murray was limited to 19 minutes and tallied two points on 1-for-6 shooting, including 0-3 from deep. Russell Westbrook had a solid debut for the Nuggets, ending the night with nine points and six assists. Denver is still looking for its first preseason win.

Phoenix Suns vs Denver Nuggets player stats and box score

Phoenix Suns player stats and box score

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3-PT FG	FT	+/-
R. O'Neal	17	4	4	2	1	3	6-9	3-6	2-2	-1
R. Dunn	20	4	4	2	3	1	7-15	6-11	0-0	+16
M. Plumlee	4	7	2	1	0	2	1-3	0-0	2-3	+5
B. Bol	14	8	1	0	1	2	5-10	4-5	0-0	+14
M. Morris	20	2	7	2	0	1	7-12	4-7	2-2	+19
F. Kaminsky	7	6	1	0	0	0	2-4	1-3	2-2	-6
M. Diakite	3	3	0	0	0	1	1-2	1-1	0-0	-4
M. Wood	0	0	0	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	-3
J. Bridges	3	4	2	0	0	0	1-6	1-6	0-0	-11
O. Ighodaro	4	2	0	1	0	1	2-5	0-0	0-0	+5
D. Lee	5	2	1	0	0	1	2-10	1-6	0-0	+1
C. Gillespie	12	4	6	1	1	1	4-7	1-3	3-4	-15
T. Washington	9	1	1	0	0	0	4-8	1-3	0-0	0
D. Booker	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
K. Durant	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J. Okogie	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J. Nurkic	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
T. Jones	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
B. Beal	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
G. Allen	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Denver Nuggets playe stats and box score

Player	PTS	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	FG	3-PT FG	FT	+/-
A. Gordon	12	5	3	0	0	0	5-8	2-3	0-0	+3
M. Porter Jr.	21	3	1	3	0	0	8-13	3-6	2-2	+3
N. Jokic	21	14	9	1	0	6	9-16	0-3	3-5	+5
M. Murray	2	3	3	1	0	0	1-6	0-3	0-0	+7
C. Braun	11	4	1	0	1	1	4-9	1-3	2-3	-10
D. Saric	6	6	2	1	0	1	3-9	0-4	0-0	-11
Z. Nnaji	11	2	0	1	1	0	4-5	2-3	1-2	-6
H. Tyson	0	3	1	1	0	0	0-6	0-4	0-0	-7
V. Cancar	0	1	1	0	0	0	0-0	0-0	0-0	+2
R. Westbrook	9	0	6	0	0	2	3-8	1-2	2-2	-5
J. Strawther	21	4	4	1	1	3	7-12	3-5	4-7	-2
T. Alexander	0	1	2	0	0	0	0-2	0-0	0-0	+1
D. Jordan	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
C. Bediako	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
P. Hall	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
W. Richardson	DNP	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
J. Pickett	DNP	--	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Phoenix Suns vs Denver Nuggets: Game summary

Suns coach Mike Budenholzer opened the game without any of his starters. Royce O’Neale, Ryan Dunn and Monte Morris carried the visitors in the early going. The frontcourt pairing of Bol Bol and Mason Plumlee looked awkward.

Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic and Michael Porter did the heavy lifting for the hosts. Russell Westbrook finally debuted for the Nuggets in front of a wildly cheering home crowd. Denver led 33-26 after the first quarter.

Basketball fans got a vintage "Joker" performance from Jokic in the first half. He already had 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Murray struggled, scoring just two points on 1-for-6 shooting, including 0-for-3 from deep.

Ryan Dunn led the Suns with 11 points while the rest of the starters had 20. Phoenix's bench stepped up but Budenholzer's crew trailed 51-60 by halftime.

After trailing by nine points at halftime, the Suns steadily worked their way back to the game. Mason Plumlee and Bol Bol, who struggled together in the first half, led the initial surge. Royce O'Neale and Monte Morris took over later in the period.

Michael Porter Jr. and Julian Strawther starred for the Denver Nuggets in the third quarter. Denver's defense, though, allowed Phoenix's mostly second-stringers to cut the lead to 90-88 before the fourth quarter.

The final frame mostly featured the benchwarmers from both teams. Clutch shots from Ryan Dunn and Damion Lee allowed the Phoenix Suns to walk away with a 118-114 win.