'We know what we're capable of': Mat Ishbia excited after Suns upset win over Nuggets
Mat Ishbia loved it. Absolutely loved it.
The Phoenix Suns team owner thoroughly enjoyed seeing his team pull off perhaps their biggest win of the season, 117-107, over the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena.
“Great win against a tough team on the road that’s fully healthy,” Ishbia said in an interview with The Republic the day after Tuesday’s win. “We were one man short and we played well. I think we did a lot of things we’re capable of. We’re proud of the team.”
The Suns took down the Nuggets minus injured All-Star Devin Booker, who will miss a third straight game Thursday against Toronto due to a right ankle sprain suffered Saturday against Houston at home.
“We know what we’re capable of doing,” Ishbia continued. “And (Tuesday night) was just a small glimpse and that was once again without Devin Booker. We’re going to keep getting better every day. We know what we’re doing. We’re excited about what Coach (Frank) Vogel is doing and the whole team. There are wins and losses, you play 82 games, but we know what we’re doing and what we’re building towards and we have one goal in mind and that is to win a championship. (Tuesday night) was just another game on that path to try to get us where we want to be.”
Vogel gave a passionate postgame speech in the visiting locker room following the overtime win in Denver.
“Block out all the damn noise,” Vogel said as the Suns tweeted video of his speech Wednesday evening. “We’ve got a good-ass team. Yeah, we have a good-ass team. We’ve got three assassins, OK? We’ve got high-level role players at multiple positions. We’ve got a defense that keeps getting stronger every game, every week, every month. We’re going to be a monster come playoff time.”
Sixth in the West, Phoenix (36-26) snapped a two-game skid in beating the Nuggets (42-20) in overtime without injured All-Star Devin Booker. Kevin Durant scored a game-high 35 points and hit a 3-pointer over Aaron Gordon with 26.6 seconds left to force overtime. Durant scored eight points on 3-of-3 shooting in the extra session.
The Suns, who face the second-toughest remaining NBA schedule, look to build off Tuesday’s win against Toronto (23-39) on Thursday night at Footprint Center.
"Block out all the damn noise... We're going to be a monster come playoff time."
🗣️ Head Coach Frank Vogel following last night's OT thriller! pic.twitter.com/TWn6D00ZJQ— Phoenix Suns (@Suns) March 7, 2024
“That’s a big-time win, everybody contributed,” Vogel continued. “Starting with (Jusuf Nurkic), man. Dominating with your passing, your playmaking, your defense and board work, awesome.”
Nurkic only scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting, but posted 12 rebounds, six assists and did a yeoman’s job defending two-time MVP Nikola Jokic before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.
“When (Nurkic) came out, Drew (Eubanks) came in and stepped up big time,” Vogel continued as Eubanks gave Phoenix its first lead in overtime on a dunk off a Bradley Beal feed.
“Grayson (Allen) with your threes, Saben (Lee) big minutes, everybody contributed,” Vogel continued about Allen, who made eight 3s in scoring 28 points and Lee, who played 13 minutes and had a monster dunk on Nuggets backup big Zeke Nnaji.
"They all felt good leaving my hands."
Grayson Allen on eight 3s in #Suns win at defending NBA champion Denver.
"Huge win. Anytime you can come in here short handed. You get in a close game down the stretch where your lungs are starting to burn a little bit more than usual." pic.twitter.com/0uLWFqCBhT— Duane Rankin (@DuaneRankin) March 6, 2024
Vogel then gave props to Royce O’Neale for guarding Jokic on the final play off regulation as the Nuggets big missed a shot Gordon followed up with a dunk after the buzzer.
The first-year head coach in Phoenix lastly praised Durant and Beal for their play at regulation and overtime. Beal scored five of his 16 points in overtime. “Royce (O’Neale), big stop at the end of regulation, right,” Vogel continued. “KD, Brad, got late hot when we needed it. We’re going to be a monster. Believe it.”
Vogel replaced Monty Williams, who was fired after the Suns were eliminated by the Nuggets in the Western Conference semifinals. Vogel coached the Los Angeles Lakers to the 2019-20 NBA title.
Have opinions about the current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @DuaneRankin.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mat Ishbia sees what Phoenix Suns are 'capable of doing' in win over Nuggets
