Phoenix Suns end season in embarrassing fashion again, fall to Denver Nuggets in Game 6

This was Game 7 against Dallas all over again.

For a second straight postseason, Phoenix got blasted in an elimination game on their home court. This time it was courtesy of the Denver Nuggets, 125-100, in Game 6 of this Western Conference semifinals series before a sellout crowd of 17,071, many of whom started leaving Footprint Center at the end of the third quarter.

"It sucked," Suns superstar Kevin Durant said. "Bad feeling. Embarrassing."

Last year, Dallas ran through the Suns by 33 points in Game 7 of the West semifinals to abruptly end their historic 64-win season at home.

This year, Denver led by as many as 32 points in the first half, boasted a 30-point halftime lead, 81-51, and cruised to the conference finals for the second time in four years.

"Was deflating to see them score like that," Suns coach Monty Williams said. "Running down the floor, getting easy buckets. That falls on my shoulders, not having us ready to play at the highest level, in the biggest game of the year, bottom line. To your point, that’s just not who we are and who we’ve been.”

Cameron Payne scored a playoff career-high 31 points to lead the fourth-seeded Suns while Durant added 23.

Payne got the start for Chris Paul, who missed a fourth straight game with a left groin strain suffered in Game 2. Deandre Ayton also was sidelined with a rib contusion suffered in Game 5’s loss in Denver.

"It hurt, it hurt big-time," said Payne about losing Game 6. "It just hurt playing in front of the fans like that. That's not us."

Rewind: Nuggets eliminate Suns from NBA Playoffs with Game 6 rout

Devin Booker scored just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting to nearly mirror his 11-point effort on 3-of-14 shooting in Game 7 against Dallas.

Two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic capped a dominant series against the Suns with a triple-double of 32 points on 13-of-18 shooting, 11 assists and 10 rebounds while Jamal Murray went for 26 points after being listed as questionable with a non-COVID illness hours before tip-off.

Jokic posted three triple-doubles in the series that ended in six games. The Nuggets will play either the sixth-seeded Warriors or the seventh-seeded Lakers in the conference semifinals.

Los Angeles has a 3-2 series lead going into Friday's Game 6 of its West semifinal series at home.

“It is a great challenge of course," Jokic said. "Both teams beat us in previous years. There are no favorites. We just have to see how things are going and I think all the teams left are very talented. You cannot relax and just play your game. You can’t let anything disturb you or your team. Just trust what you are doing.”

The Suns led, 24-21, after a Payne 3-pointer with 4:57 left in the first quarter before Denver went on a 23-2 run to take a 44-26 lead going into the second quarter.

That surge was fueled by a 17-0 barrage In the final 2:46 of the quarter. Denver extended it to 19-0 to open the second quarter before Durant hit a jumper with 11:08 remaining in the half.

“Our mentality was take it," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. "They are not going to give it to us. When you play against a team with their backs against the wall, facing elimination, you just can’t show up and think you can just arrive for this game. We did not want to be counter punchers. We wanted to go out and strike first and I felt that the start we got out to was outstanding."

Reactions: Suns should fire Monty Williams after loss to Nuggets, NBA Twitter says

The Suns now are 0-3 in elimination games in this three-year postseason run starting with Game 6 against Milwaukee in the 2021 NBA Finals.

Phoenix followed that up with the NBA’s best record the following season, but it couldn’t close out Dallas at home.

This year, they pulled off a blockbuster deal for Durant right before the Feb. 9 trade deadline, looked impressive in eliminating the Clippers in five games, but had no answers for Jokic and the No. 1 seeded Nuggets.

More: Suns quit in elimination game. Expect massive changes in the offseason

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.

Support local journalism. Start your online subscription.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns embarrased by Denver Nuggets at home to end season