The Denver Nuggets welcomed in the Phoenix Suns to the Pepsi Center for their first home game of the season, and from the get-go, Denver was assertive, dominant, and executing at a high level.

Nikola Jokic got Denver started with three-straight buckets by going through, around, and over Deandre Ayton — the first overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. Jokic punished Ayton in the post, shot over him from three-point distance, and then felt like making his presence in the post felt once again with another feathery layup. By the time Jokic’s first stint had ended, he had 14 points and single-handedly outscored the entire Suns roster, who had just 13 points at that point.

In addition to his offensive output, Jokic was playing defense as if his life depended on it on every single possession. The defensive energy that Jokic was playing with bled into the rest of the roster as the Nuggets held the Suns to just 16 points in the first quarter while shooting 26.3 percent from the field.

Unfortunately, Denver’s bench unit did not provide the same level of offensive output. The Nuggets lead fell to just two points after being up by as many as 17 points and not even the starting unit could stop the bleeding. The Nuggets biggest issue is their lack of consistency and that problem reared its ugly head in the second quarter.

To help mitigate the Nuggets struggles, Malone went back to his starting unit and was rewarded as Jokic became impossible to defend for the rest of the first half. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, Jokic had 23 points while shooting a perfect 7-7 from the field to go with six rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block as he led Denver to a 65-49 lead at halftime.

The Nuggets starting unit continued to play with fire and tenacity to begin the third quarter as they pushed their lead to 24 points. Jokic was still in complete control and was a one-man wrecking ball that the Suns had no answer for. By the end of the third quarter, Jokic had an absurd 30 points on perfect 10-10 shooting to go with 10 rebounds, and nine assists without committing a single turnover. He also added three steals and two blocks for good measure.

Unfortunately, the third quarter had a very dark moment when Will Barton went up for a reverse layup and fell to the ground in agony. He was not able to stand back up under his own power and needed a medical cart to take him back to the locker room where he remained for the rest of the game. He was diagnosed with a right hip injury and did not return to the game. Torrey Craig filled in for Barton the rest of the way.

The Nuggets lead dwindled throughout the third quarter and Denver ecnetually took a 13-point lead into the fourth and final quarter by a score of 92-79.

The Suns continued to battle and, with some help from the officials, closed their deficit to just 12 points in the fourth quarter. The game began to get a bit chippy as Jamal Murray got called for a technical foul for clapping sarcastically in the direction of an official after numerous close calls went in Phoenix’s favor. Malone called a timeout to calm down his team.

From that timeout until the end of the game, Denver dominated. Jokic continued to feast on anyone who dared guard him and the Nuggets locked in on defense. He finished with his first triple-double of the 2018-19 season with 35 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists without committing a turnover. He shot 11-11 from the field, 3-3 from three-point distance, and 10-11 from the foul line for one of the most efficient games in NBA history. Oh, and he had four steals and one block to top off his incredible performance.

Once the game mercifully ended, the Nuggets beat the Suns by a score of 119-91.

Next, they take on the Golden State Warriors less than 24-hours after tipping off against the Suns. They play the Warriors on Sunday at 6pm MST.