October 31, 2026 at 2:59 PM UTC

Postgame Report

Murray and Braun lift Nuggets past Suns 127-120 in Phoenix

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Jamal Murray scored 39 and Christian Braun added 31 as Denver, last in the league in road scoring, got past the league's worst defense in its NBA Cup opener.

Two teams in search of a pulse met in Phoenix on Friday night, and Denver found one first. The Nuggets beat the Suns 127-120 to move to 3-2. Phoenix fell to 1-3 and is still playing the kind of defense that has made every opponent's scouting report a short read. Denver arrived with problems of its own, but the Suns were the ones left explaining themselves afterward.

Jamal Murray did most of the work, scoring 39 points with eight rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes. Christian Braun gave him real help with 31 points. For a team that came in dead last in road scoring at 94.0 a game, 127 was a loud answer, and it came against a defense that had been the league's worst by rating. Nikola Jokic was quieter than usual but still finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists for a double-double. Cameron Johnson, who had been questionable, started and played 34 minutes with 12 points and nine rebounds, and the extra size and shooting on the floor showed. Spencer Jones did not play.

This was also the first Emirates NBA Cup game for both clubs, so the result counts in group play as well as the early-season standings. Phoenix will need that tournament math to matter, because the Suns have little else going. Miles Bridges had 24 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double, and Dillon Brooks scored 22 in just 21 minutes. Devin Booker played a team-high 39 minutes and finished with 20 points and five assists. Jalen Green started and managed two points in 25 minutes.

The lingering question in Phoenix is still who runs the offense. The Suns have no traditional point guard, and the talk about it has not gone away. Collin Gillespie, who came off the bench, had 16 points and 10 assists for a double-double and was probably the closest thing to an answer on the floor. Jordan Goodwin added 11 points and five assists. The ball moved, but it did not always move with a plan, and Denver had enough scoring to make the difference.

Sources

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