Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns eliminate Denver Nuggets in sweep

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Goodbye, Denver Nuggets.

Hello Western Conference finals.

The Phoenix Suns completed a conference semifinals sweep with Sunday’s 125-118 Game 4 victory against the Nuggets before 18,290 fans at Ball Arena. 

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Chris Paul once again took over in leading the Suns into the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2010, which was the last time they made the playoffs.

Paul, 36, scored 12 of his game-high 37 points in the third quarter on a perfect 6-for-6 shooting in keeping the Nuggets at bay.

Making making nine consecutive shots at one point, Paul scored 25 points in the second half on 10-for-12 shooting. 

The Nuggets lost Nikola Jokic, who was ejected after drawing a flagrant 2 on a foul on Cameron Payne with 3:52 left in third.

© Isaiah J. Downing, USA TODAY Sports Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul controls the ball against Denver Nuggets guard Facundo Campazzo.

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The Suns went on a 13-5 run in building their largest lead of 16 late in the quarter. Jokic closed out his NBA MVP season with 22 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes.

The Nuggets drew as close as four with 8:01 left in the game, but Phoenix, led by Paul, took control late to eliminate the third seed.

With Phoenix up six, Paul scored five quick points with the latter coming off a steal by Mikal Bridges on Will Barton to give Phoenix an 114-103 lead as Denver coach Michael Malone called a timeout with 2:56 left in the game.

© David Zalubowski, AP Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker, left, goes up for a basket as Denver Nuggets forward Will Barton defends in the first half of Game 4 of an NBA second-round playoff series Sunday, June 13, 2021, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski).

Devin Booker went for 32 points while Bridges and Deandre Ayton added 14 and 12 respectively. 

Setting a franchise record for most consecutive playoff wins at seven, the second-seeded Suns will play either the Utah Jazz or Los Angeles Clippers in the conference finals. 

The top-seeded Jazz are up 2-1 after Saturday’s 132-106 loss to the Clippers in Los Angeles. Game 4 is Monday at Staples Center.

The conference finals will begin June 20 if the Clippers-Jazz series ends in five or six games. If that best-of-seven series goes seven, the conference finals will start June 22.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Chris Paul, Phoenix Suns eliminate Denver Nuggets in sweep