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NBA 3on3: Suns Pull Off Upset, Advance To Second Round

Denver has nothing on this guy.
Denver has nothing on this guy.


In a shocking upset, the Phoenix Suns 3-on-3 team has advanced to the second round of SB Nation's NBA 3on3 Tournament by knocking off the No. 6 seed Denver Nuggets

In our preview I wrote about how the Suns should win this match-up on the strength of their pick-and roll. However, four out of the five judges saw it differently and the Suns were given only a 34 percent chance to win any one game. Since the Nuggets were the higher seed, all numbers 66 and below belong to Denver, while a roll of 67 or higher signifies a Suns victory.

As it turns out, the pick-and-roll (of the dice) did greatly favor the Suns and Phoenix won both games to sweep the Nuggets. Make the jump to see how the games played out.

In the first game, the dice came up 83. The final (made-up) score was 25-21 in favor of the Suns. Marcin Gortat was unstoppable in the pick-and-roll and scored 18 points all by himself. Goran Dragic finished with four points and Jared Dudley hit one 3-pointer.

In the second game, the dice came up 95. This time the Suns didn't need the full ten minutes as they came out on fire and hit the 31 point cap to end the game. The Nuggets focused their defense on shutting down Gortat by switching the screen and doubling him on the roll, which freed Dragic up to make plays off the dribble and left Dudley open on the perimeter. Dragic finished with 13 points, Dudley hit four 3-pointers for 12 points and Gortat only scored six points but dominated the glass for the Suns.

Enjoy this (hypothetical) win for now, because things get much tougher really soon. The Suns' second round opponent is the MVP-studded Los Angeles Lakers trio of Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard.

Keep following along with tournament on the 3-on-3 Story Stream.

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