Booker and Durant Each Score 36 in Game 4 Win As Suns Even Series With Nuggets

• The Phoenix Suns defeated the Denver Nuggets in Game 4
• Devin Booker and Kevin Durant each scored 36 points in the win
• Nikola Jokic scored 53 points for the Nuggets in Sunday’s loss

The Phoenix Suns defeated the Denver Nuggets 129-124 on Sunday night in Game 4 to even their Western Conference semifinal series at 2-2.

The Nuggets won the first two games in Denver by an average of 14 points.

The Suns responded by protecting their home court, winning Games 3 and 4 with the help of superstars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant.

Booker and Durant lead Suns 

Booker continued his hot shooting in the playoffs, scoring 36 points in Game 4, per ESPN.

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He shot 14 of 18 from the field, including 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.

Booker attracted extra attention after he scored 47 points in Game 3, but he made the Nuggets pay, dishing out a playoff career-high 12 assists against Denver.

Durant matched Booker’s scoring output, dropping 36 points. He also had 11 rebounds to record another double-double in the postseason.

Shamet delivers in fourth quarter

The Suns needed another scoring option apart from Booker and Durant to put away the Nuggets in Game 4, and they got that from point guard Landry Shamet.

He erupted for 19 points, 12 of which came from the 3-point area in the fourth quarter.

Shamet’s hot shooting from deep helped the Suns build a 116-106 lead in the final period.

The Nuggets battled back, unleashing a 14-7 run to slice the deficit to three points.

Their late rally stalled, though, as the Suns made key defensive stops down the stretch to hold on to the win.

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Jokic scores 53 in loss 

It was a disappointing loss for the Nuggets, who wasted Nikola Jokic’s incredible performance.

The Serbian big man scored 53 points and nearly willed the Nuggets to victory on his own. He shot 20 of 30 from the floor and made 11 of 13 free throws in Game 4.

Jokic was involved in an altercation with Suns owner Mat Ishbia during the second quarter when the former tried to get the ball off the latter’s hands.

Ishbia was knocked backward by the Nuggets center’s elbow, causing the latter to be assessed a technical foul.

Sixers win thanks to Harden

Sports Brief recently reported on the Sixers' win over the Celtics in Game 4 of their series.

James Harden scored 42 points to lead Philadelphia to a thrilling 116-115 win over Boston.

He made the biggest shot of the game, knocking down the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18.2 seconds left in overtime.