Phoenix Suns (51-40) vs. Denver Nuggets (59-32)
May 9, 2023 10:00 pm EDT
The Line: Denver Nuggets -5.5; Over/Under: +228.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Denver Nuggets play host to the Phoenix Suns at the Ball Arena in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Tuesday.
The Phoenix Suns will be eager to take their first lead in this series after beating the Nuggets by 129-124 in Game 4 on Sunday. Devin Booker led the team with 36 points and 12 assists on 14 of 18 shooting, Kevin Durant added 36 points with 11 rebounds and six assists while Landry Shamet chipped in with 19 points off the bench. As a team, the Suns shot 56 percent from the field and 13 of 29 from the 3-point line as they leaned heavily on their two superstars to carry the bulk of the offense, but the real x-factor was Landry Shamet who provided the spark off the bench with five 3-pointers.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets will be going back to the drawing board after coming up just short to the Suns on Sunday. Nikola Jokic led the way with a monster game of 53 points and 11 assists on 20 of 30 shooting, Jamal Murray added 28 points with seven assists while Michael Porter Jr. chipped in with 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. As a team, the Nuggets shot 56 percent from the field and seven of 22 from the 3-point line, but even though they got a big game from Jokic, they got just 11 points from their bench players while failing to keep a lid on Shamet who was the Suns’ third best player on Sunday.
Looking at the betting trends, the Suns are 1-4 ATS in their last five road games, 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games against a team above .600 and 2-5 ATS in their last seven games following a win. The Nuggets are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games against a team with a winning record and 6-1 ATS in their last seven home games.
Head to head, the over is 4-1 in the last five meetings overall and the Suns are 2-5 ATS in the last seven meetings overall.
The Suns will again be missing Chris Paul, while the Nuggets are coming into this one with the same lineup. The Suns needed to respond after dropping the first two games of the series and now they must be feeling pretty good about their chances after squaring up the series on Sunday. The Suns hold the momentum now, but it is the Nuggets who still have home-court advantage and I think that will be the difference in this close contest. You can make an argument for either side here, but the Nuggets have won all five of their playoff home games and I think that trend continues here as the Nuggets get the narrow win.
