DENVER – Nikola Jokic scored 13 of his 32 points in a decisive third quarter and the Denver Nuggets defeated the hustling Phoenix Suns 117-90 on Monday night.

Michael Porter Jr. scored 24 points on 10 of 12 shooting for Denver, which played without guard Jamal Murray (sprained left ankle). The Nuggets have won four of five games and handed Phoenix its third straight loss.

The Suns were missing guards Devin Booker (left groin) and Grayson Allen (concussion protocol). They struggled to score outside of Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, who both had 23 points.

Denver led by four points at halftime and outscored Phoenix 45-28 in the third half. Jokic, Porter and Russell Westbrook combined to shoot 13 of 17 from the field in the period, and the team was 18 of 28.

The Suns missed eight of their first 12 shots in the third period and trailed by 24.

Takeaways

Suns: Jusuf Nurkic was successful protecting Jokic, but quickly ran into foul trouble against his former teammate. Nurkic had four fouls and played just 9:15 in the first half and was ineffective.

Nuggets: With Murray sidelined, coach Michael Malone reached deeper into his bench and gave minutes to little-used guard Jalen Pickett. Pickett scored a career-high 11 points and played 22 minutes after totaling 41 points in the first 26 games.

Key moment

Phoenix scored eight straight points to cut a 24-point deficit before Jokic was fouled on a layup. He missed the free throw, but the Nuggets grabbed the rebound and Hunter Tyson hit a corner 3-pointer to give Denver a 100-79 lead in the fourth.

Key statistics

The Nuggets are 4-0 in back-to-back games heading into the second night.

Next

The teams will meet again on Christmas Eve in Phoenix.

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AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL