Denver, CO
Recap: Suns take down Denver in OT thriller, 117-107
The Phoenix Suns had a rollercoaster of a game but pulled off a much-needed road win in overtime.
It was ugly at times, but they hung in there and took care of business when it mattered most. A big-time win for the Suns.
Key Performers
- Grayson Allen — 28 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 8-12 3PFG
- Kevin Durant — 35 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 14-34 FG
- Nikola Jokic — 25 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 8-18 FG
- Jamal Murray — 28 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 12-25 FG
Game Flow
First Half
The first quarter was neck and neck for the entirety of the quarter with each team trading buckets.
Grayson Allen got off to an extremely hot start, connecting on all four of his three-point attempts to begin the game.
Jamal Murray got hot early and the quarter ended on a miraculous off-balance Nikola Jokic triple at the time expired. Those types of shots falling after a strong defensive stand are always deflating.
After the first quarter of action, Denver led 32-28. Allen finished with 12 points leading the way for Phoenix. Murray chipped in with 11 points in the opening frame.
The early second quarter was more of the back-and-forth action that took place in the first twelve minutes. Just as Denver started to pull away, a quick 11-0 Phoenix run sparked a Denver timeout and gave the Suns a four-point lead, 47-43.
Even David Roddy got in on the action, completing an impressive and-one here.
Kevin Durant hit a trio of tough shots to get going during the Suns’ 13-0 run. Denver started the second quarter shooting 3-15 from the field.
Phoenix stormed out in front to a 62-46 lead after a massive 26-3 run led by Durant, Allen, Nurkic, and company.
Grayson Allen was pouring it in for Phoenix, going a perfect 6-for-6 from deep with 22 points in the first half.
Phoenix took a 65-50 lead into the break.
Second Half
The Suns opened up the second half strong, with Grayson Allen continuing to shoot the leather off the basketball. He drilled his two more threes to open the quarter to improve to a perfect 8-for-8 from deep.
Phoenix got off to a 12-5 start in the quarter, but Denver quickly went on a 5-0 run to close the gap.
A pivotal moment occurred at the 3:20 mark of the third when Jusuf Nurkic picked up his fifth foul. Phoenix led by 15 before that and one.
Drew Eubanks provided a spark for the Suns off the bench, drawing fouls on multiple possessions and grabbing offensive rebounds.
Phoenix took a 90-81 lead in the fourth and final quarter. Denver won the third quarter by six points.
Saben Lee opened up the 4th quarter with an emphatic dunk in transition.
Denver started strong, cutting the lead to just four (94-90) picking up the momentum from the third quarter. The Suns went 4:20 without a field goal midway through the 4th.
A clutch triple from Bradley Beal extended the Suns’ lead to nine, only to see it quickly answered by a three from KCP.
The Suns were unable to get anything going offensively and Denver capitalized late to take the lead after a Caldwell-Pope three, 100-99. The Suns scored just 12 points in the 4th quarter.
A Kevin Durant three tied the game at 102. Jokic had a chance to win it, but no good. OT we go.
OT
The Suns opened the extra session with a Drew Eubanks dunk to take a two-point lead.
Phoenix scored 10 points in the first three minutes of overtime after just managing 12 in the 4th quarter.
Durant and Beal quickly put up five points a piece in the first couple of minutes in OT. It was a dominant extra session of basketball with Phoenix engulfing Denver by a score of 15-5. An avalanche if you will.
Suns win it, 117-107.
Up Next?
Suns vs. Raptors — Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Footprint Center
Denver, CO
Trump Border Czar: I’ll Throw Denver Resistance Mayor in Jail
President-elect Donald Trump’s “border czar” claimed Monday that he will throw the mayor of Denver, Colorado in prison if his city resists Trump’s efforts to deport millions of immigrants from the United States.
“Me and the Denver mayor, we agree on one thing: he’s willing to go to jail, I’m willing to put him in jail,” Tom Homan said in an appearance on Fox News’ Hannity.
Homan was responding to an interview last week in which Mayor Mike Johnston told Denverite he would summon local police to block federal forces mobilized by Trump to round up immigrants.
He also suggested the community would rise up against them.
“More than us having [the Denver Police Department] stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there,” Johnston said.
“It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them.”
Johnston added that he would explore the creation of city work authorizations if Trump follows through on a pledge to block immigrants from working.
His remarks immediately became fodder for conservative cable news and MAGA sycophants like Elon Musk, who tweeted, “The mayor of Denver hates his constituents.”
During an appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) accused the mayor of advocating for a “form of insurrection.”
Johnston later softened his stance on city police blocking federal agents, but reiterated his support for mass protests against any deportation efforts.
Homan, meanwhile, pledged to have federal officers carry out deportations, no matter what Johnston thinks.
“I don’t know what the hell’s going on in Denver, but we are going to go fix it,“ he said. ”If he don’t want to fix it, if he don’t want to protect his communities, President Trump and ICE will.”
Homan is a rough and tumble former Border Patrol agent who led the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on an acting basis under Trump from January 2017 to June 2018.
He was not confirmed by the United States Senate, while his new role doesn’t require confirmation.
During Trump’s second term in office, he will be in charge of the U.S. land and sea borders, including the enforcement of the President-elect’s pledge to mass deport millions of people with the use of federal or even military personnel.
Denver, CO
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Denver, CO
Rand Paul Warns Denver Mayor on Deportations
Rand Paul on Sunday issued a warning to the mayor of Denver: Don’t try to foil the coming Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations of undocumented migrants. On Face the Nation, the Kentucky senator referenced Mayor Mike Johnston’s suggestion that police and city residents would block federal efforts to deport people, per the Hill. The mayor is “on the wrong side of history” and would pay the consequences, he warned. “I would suspect that he would be removed from office.”
- “I don’t know whether or not that would be a criminal prosecution for someone resisting federal law,” Paul added. “But he will lose. And people need to realize that what he is offering is a form of insurrection where the states resist the federal government.”
Paul’s comments come after the mayor told Denverite that it wouldn’t work to mobilize the National Guard to round up migrants in the city:
- “More than us having (Denver police) stationed at the county line to keep them out, you would have 50,000 Denverites there,” Johnston said. “It’s like the Tiananmen Square moment with the rose and the gun, right? You’d have every one of those Highland moms who came out for the migrants. And you do not want to mess with them.”
Denver is a self-described “sanctuary city” that has seen an influx of 41,000 migrants over the past two years, per Colorado Politics. It’s not clear exactly how the Trump administration’s plan would play out, but incoming “border czar” Tom Homan has promised deportations on a historic scale, starting with criminals first. (More Denver stories.)
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