From Nikola Jokic-Mat Ishbia exchange to Devin Booker and Kevin Durant magic, Game 4 had it all

The Phoenix Suns did what they were supposed to do.

Took Game 3 Friday and Game 4 Sunday, 129-124, at home to even the series, but they look like a different team from the one that dropped the first two games of this West semifinal series in Denver.

Now, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant still are carrying the offense.

They’ve now scored 273 of Phoenix’s 444 points through four games after each cranked out 36 Sunday before a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center.

The Suns still have no answer for two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets and Deandre Ayton still hasn’t had a breakout offensive game, but they have found a bench rotation that now involves T.J. Warren and Terrence Ross to help them match the No. 1 seed in the West on the offensive end.

Landry Shamet finally has joined the NBA Playoffs with a career postseason performance, Ayton responded to his career playoff-low four points in Game 3 with a more active effort and the Suns are sounding like a team ready to face that Mile High altitude and play better than the last trip there.

“Our mindset right now is we have a lot more to do,” said Suns coach Monty Williams. “We had to win these two games to be in this position, but we said we had to see it and believe it. Now we have to see more and believe more. There’s more work to be done. It’s an even series now and our guys, you can feel it in the locker room. They were excited, but they know we have a lot of work to do.”

Here are five takeaways as the Suns have won their last two games without injured point guard Chris Paul (left groin strain), who got up some shots Saturday after not practicing Wednesday and Thursday.

Rewind: Suns even NBA Playoffs series with Nuggets with Game 4 victory

‘Playing out of his mind’

Jokic is making voters rethink their MVP ballots with the way he’s balling right now.

Ravaging the Suns for a playoff career-high 53 points to go along with 11 assists Sunday, Jokic is having his way in this series, but the degree of difficulty on some of his releases has been high.

“He’s playing out of his mind,” Booker said.

Got Durant straight tripping over it.

“He’s ridiculous,” Durant said. “I hate when he makes shots because he’s so unorthodox. It’s like oh, that’s a miss, and then they go straight in.”

He’s having his way with Ayton and Jock Landale, but the Suns limiting him to four rebounds after he averaged 17.3 through the first three games of this series is a win for them.

Phoenix outrebounded Denver, 37-32. Jokic had just one offensive rebound.

Ayton got three on Phoenix’s first possession in ending the game with eight total boards while Durant grabbed a game-high 11.

Ishbia ‘influencing’ series beyond Game 4?

Jokic also got into an exchange with Suns team owner Mat Ishbia late in the first half.

He ripped the ball out of Ishbia’s hands in looking to quickly inbound the ball and extended his arm, knocking Ishbia back down into his courtside seat. That led to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, a Durant technical free throw, but no ejection.

Curious to see what the NBA does, if anything, in reaction.

Jokic is saying Ishbia put his hands on him, is calling for the NBA to protect the players and added that Ishbia was “influencing” the game by holding the ball on what was a turnover for the Suns in that area.

Ishbia did have his hand on Jokic’s back, but not in an aggressive way. Ishbia could’ve been called for flopping the way he fell back, but the way the NBA has been handling interactions in the playoffs between players, something could very well come out of this.

Jokic will probably play Game 5.

Ishbia tweeted Monday morning he doesn't want Jokic suspended, but let’s say he is?

Booker joked that the Suns got a point out of it and that Ishbia ‘did his job.”

Ishbia is already a legend for pulling off the Durant trade and leaving Bally Sports Arizona for Gray Television and Kiswe to provide free local broadcasting of Suns games next season.

If Jokic is suspended for Game 5, Phoenix wins and the Suns close out the series Thursday at home in Game 6, Ishbia will be forever a legend.

More: NBA Twitter reacts to Nikola Jokic vs. Mat Ishbia incident

‘I don’t blame coach’

Ayton didn’t duck out of the locker room this time.

Wearing all black from his hat to sunglasses to shirt, pants, socks and shoes, Ayton took a deep breath and addressed how he felt about Williams taking him out of Game 3 with 4:57 remaining.

“I don’t blame Coach,” he said. “You’re trying to win.”

That’s a positive sign for the Suns moving forward in this series, but Ayton’s actions on the court delivered a stronger message.

Grabbing those three offensive rebounds to open the game set the team tone as Booker closed out that possession with a bucket to give the Suns the first lead of the night.

The crowd went crazy and was right away in Ayton’s corner.

He only scored eight points on 3-of-6 shooting and grabbed just eight boards total, but he played with more energy and activity. Ayton dove on the floor for a loose ball that led to a jump ball with Phoenix up 123-120 with 27.7 seconds left.

Ayton won the tip over Jokic, T.J. Warren retrieved the ball, was fouled and hit two free throws to extend Phoenix’s advantage to five with 22.4 seconds left.

The Suns won by the same margin.

Ayton still hasn’t really impacted the game offensively or on the glass, finished the game with a minus-13 plus/minus impact, the worst on the team, but he wasn’t a liability as was the case in Game 3.

‘Healthy amount of pissed off’

Landry Shamet came into Game 4 having scored just 14 points in seven playoff games, shooting 6-of-19 from the field overall, 2-of-9 from 3, and being on the wrong end of several Jamal Murray highlights.

Murray still put in work Sunday, going for 28 points on 13-of-25 shooting, but Shamet continues to battle on that end and caught fire in scoring a career playoff-high 19 points on 6-of-9 shooting, hitting a career playoff-high five shots from 3 on eight attempts.

Really cooking when it mattered most, Shamet scored 14 of those 19 in the fourth quarter on 4-of-6 shooting that were all launches from long range.

He was still boiling after the game and understandably so.

The guy has been getting slammed on social media for weeks. Now granted, Shamet wasn’t making shots as evidenced by those 14 points in seven games on 31.6% shooting, but he responded with a clutch Game 4.

Shamet’s most important number wasn’t the 19 points or five 3s.

Thirty.

Williams played Shamet for 30 minutes Sunday.

Cameron Payne logged 25 in starting for Paul again and Josh Okogie played 17.

Torrey Craig? Try seven seconds.

Seven.

Like Ross, Warren and Landale earned Game 4 minutes after their play in Game 3, expect Shamet to see considerable action Tuesday.

The Suns have shown Booker and Durant don’t have to play 45-plus minutes.

Maybe 44 like Durant in Game 4, while Booker went for 40, but two men can’t win a series.

A game? Yes. Booker and Durant combining for 86 in Game 3 is a case in point, but to win four out of seven against a great team like Denver, the Suns need more.

Shamet delivered more on Sunday.

More: Landry Shamet shines as Suns cruise past Nuggets in Game 4

Paul dilemma?

Sources informed The Republic last Tuesday that Paul would be out for at least a week with a left groin strain. A week will be Game 5 in Denver.

The Suns have not only won two without him, but they are playing faster and catching Denver in defensive dilemmas trying to slow down Booker in transition.

Now Paul can speed it up, but so can Cameron Payne. Ross helps them play faster too because he can catch and shoot as well as off the bounce — and doesn’t hesitate to launch.

Paul likely will not return for Game 5, but he should probably sit even if he is ready.

The Suns have a rhythm and flow going and even though they were rolling when Paul got hurt in the third quarter of Game 2, this team has found a winning formula.

Phoenix isn’t winning a championship without him, but it has knotted this series with him on the sidelines, has momentum and figured some things out.

Now might not be the time to tinker with that in bringing Paul back.

More: Booker and the Suns have figured out how to beat Denver: Trust one another

Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: From Jokic-Ishbia exchange to Durant-Booker magic, Game 4 had it all