The NBA’s Western Conference series both have the higher seed up 2-0 as we move into the weekend. The Phoenix Suns blew out the Denver Nuggets, 123-98, on Wednesday night, as Nuggets head coach Mike Malone said that his team basically “gave up” down the stretch. On Thursday night, the Utah Jazz fought off the L.A. Clippers once again, winning 117-111 behind 37 points from Donovan Mitchell. Let’s take a look at Game 3 of each series, with the teams down 0-2 now needing a win on their home floors to avoid the brink of elimination.
We’ve got online NBA betting picks for each game.
NBA News: Western Conference Games (June 11-12)
Friday, June 11
Phoenix Suns at Denver Nuggets
Game 3 (10:00 pm ET, ESPN) | Suns lead, 2-0
Chris Paul’s shoulder seems to be just fine right now, as he led the Suns to a rout of the Nuggets, putting up 17 points and 15 assists without a turnover. Devin Booker put up 18 points and 10 boards. Mikal Bridges scored 16, and Deandre Ayton added 15 points and 10 boards. The Suns went into the locker room up ten at halftime, and Jae Crowder came out to knock down a couple of three-balls early in the third quarter to make it a 17-point advantage, and the Suns led by 19 points going into the fourth.
For Denver, Nikola Jokic had 24 points and 13 boards, coming a day after he received the league MVP award, but no one else could get things going consistently on offense. Michael Porter Jr scored 11 points and pulled down six rebounds in 27 minutes, but he only went 3 of 13 from the floor. Will Barton played for the first time in over a month, putting up 10 points in 16 minutes. Porter has been dealing with back issues, and Barton has dealt with hamstring issues. However, Austin Rivers was largely invisible. The Nuggets will need more contributions from their role players if they want to avoid a sweep.
Final Prediction:
Phoenix 111, Denver 107
Saturday, June 12
Utah Jazz at L.A. Clippers
Game 3 (8:30 pm ET, ABC) Jazz lead, 2-0
Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 37 points, and the Utah defense clamped down on the Clippers late, forcing nine consecutive missed shots. Mitchell hit the game-clinching shot with 43 seconds left and then made one of two three frows after getting a hard foul from Paul George with ten seconds left. Mitchell is the first Utah player with at least 35 points in consecutive playoff games since Karl Malone did it in 1988. Jordan Clarkson chipped in 24, with six three-pointers, and Joe Ingles added 19 points. Rudy Gobert set a career postseason high with 20 boards and scored 13.
For the Clippers, Reggie Jackson led the way with 29 points, and Paul George added 27. Kawhi Leonard scored 21 but just had two in the fourth quarter. Bojan Bogdanovic started picking up Leonard full-court on defense in the fourth quarter, limiting him to just 1 of 4 shooting from the floor, along with a pair of turnovers. The Clippers did lead in the fourth quarter, 101-99, but then they missed nine straight shots during a 14-2 Utah run that left it 113-103 with 3:07 left on the clock. Mike Conley (hamstring) missed his second straight game, but even so, the Jazz have a six-game playoff winning streak.
Final Prediction:
Los Angeles 114, Utah 110
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