Watch - Kevin Durant earns a technical after he pushes Nikola Jokic away 

Kevin Durant cut a frustrated figure as Denver Nuggets players, including Nikola Jokic, tried to enter the Phoenix Suns team huddle towards the end of the third quarter of Game 5. The Nuggets were up 89-69 at that stage and tried to shake the Suns' focus with their antics during a timeout.

Bruce Brown Jr. and Jokic were nearly in the huddle. A few Suns players started shoving the Nuggets players away. But it got out of hand when Durant elbowed Jokic. The latter exaggerated the contact, leading to the refs issuing KD a technical foul.

Here's a clip of the incident:

Ball Don’t Lie

@Balldontlie

Landale must have softened Jokic up for KD

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Landale must have softened Jokic up for KD 😅 https://t.co/zYoMaIPW8m

It was one of those nights for Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns. They were outplayed for most of the first half, trailing by 14 early in the second quarter before trimming that deficit to three points entering halftime.

However, the Denver Nuggets bounced back in the third quarter, outscoring Phoenix 39-25 and taking a 17-point lead into the fourth. Denver extended that lead to 24 within the first couple of minutes of the final frame. Both teams pulled their starters out around the final three minutes.

Kevin Durant had another rough shooting night as he went 10-of-24, including 0-for-3 from deep, tallying 26 points. Devin Booker had 28 points on 42.1% shooting. Deandre Ayton was the only other Suns player in double-digits. He scored 14 points on 58.3% shooting.

Skip Bayless

@RealSkipBayless

So far Kevin Durant has just been out of it on both ends. Not exactly the way you want your biggest star to set the tone of a pivotal Game 5 at Denver, where the fans are now about to blow the roof off the arena. COME ON, KD, YOU'RE ON THE VERGE OF GETTING BLOWN OUT.

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So far Kevin Durant has just been out of it on both ends. Not exactly the way you want your biggest star to set the tone of a pivotal Game 5 at Denver, where the fans are now about to blow the roof off the arena. COME ON, KD, YOU'RE ON THE VERGE OF GETTING BLOWN OUT.

The Suns lost the game 118-102 and will face the Nuggets in an elimination Game 6 contest at home next.

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Nikola Jokic and co. flex their depth in Game 5 win over Kevin Durant and the Suns

The Denver Nuggets flexed their superior roster depth over the Phoenix Suns again in their Game 5 win. Nikola Jokic spearheaded the team's charge scoring a game-high 29 points, along with 13 rebounds and 12 assists, shooting 60.0%. It was his fourth triple-double of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Bruce Brown Jr. emerged as an unlikely hero after going off for 25 points and five rebounds off the bench on 7-of-11 shooting. He was uber-aggressive all night, making 10 trips to the foul line and hitting nine FTs. Michael Porter Jr. also found his stroke, shooting 7-of-11, including 5-of-8 from three-point range.

It was an excellent bounce-back win for the Nuggets, who had failed to win the last two games, giving up their 2-0 lead in the series. The Nuggets withstood a second-quarter run from the Suns and immediately turned things around, leaving Phoenix with too much ground to cover in the second half.

The Denver Nuggets put the stops on Kevin Durant and Devin Booker again while also managing to limit the threat of the Phoenix Suns' role players, who contributed to their Game 4 win. Denver held Durant and Booker to only 41.7 and 42.1% shooting, respectively.

Nikola Jokic and co. exposed the Suns' lack of depth akin to Games 1 and 2. The Nuggets will hope they can maintain their intensity in Game 6 and close the series on the road.

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