Christian Braun’s season had been waiting for a night like this.
After a sluggish start from deep, the former Kansas guard broke loose Friday in Phoenix, pouring in a career-high 31 points to help the Denver Nuggets beat the Suns 127-120 on the road. Braun, who came into the game just 5-for-21 on 3-pointers through four games, looked nothing like a player searching for his rhythm. He knocked down a career-best seven triples on nine attempts and finished with three steals in Denver’s first NBA Cup group-stage game.
Braun’s shooting touch showed up early and kept coming. He went 11-of-16 from the field overall, added three rebounds and was perfect on two free throws in 37 minutes. His final 3-pointer pushed Denver’s lead to 11 in the closing minutes, and he later closed out his career night with two free throws.
“It’s just the process - keep shooting. Obviously, I’m open and getting a lot of good looks because of how we’re played normally,” the 25-year-old Braun told the Denver Gazette after the game.
“This whole season, I haven’t hesitated. I think I’ve been shooting the ones that are open and passing when they’re not.
Today, I got a ton of good looks. They just haven’t been falling.”
The performance also came with a defensive edge. Braun helped hold Suns guard Devin Booker to 20 points on 7-of-19 shooting as Denver moved to 3-2.
Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 39 points and matched Braun with seven made 3-pointers. Nikola Jokic added 18 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
For Braun, the breakout was a welcome turn after a slow opening stretch and another reminder that the shot is there when the looks keep coming. He said the big night mattered, but the standard has to stay higher.
“Me hitting seven (3s) is a welcome sight for the offense,” Braun said. “I’ve got to do it more consistently.
I’ve got to do it more, do it better. Obviously, today was a good day, but we’ve got to do it again.”
Nuggets coach David Adelman liked what he saw from Braun’s confidence as much as the numbers.
“It was great,” Adelman told the Gazette. “What I loved about it was there wasn’t really any pause.
There’s nights where you watch guys and even if they shoot it, you don’t feel the confidence. Tonight, I did.
He just let the thing go. Obviously, the seven 3s is a career-high, the points (too).
Just his floor game in general along with the shot making was really cool.”
Braun has said he is fully recovered from the ankle injury that limited him for much of the previous season. He signed a five-year, $125 million rookie extension with Denver in October 2025.
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Marshalls status had already been trending in the wrong direction during the week, and the move leaves Kansas with a new plan heading into a conference game that could shape the next stretch of the season. For Ballard, it is a chance to step back into a starting role under pressure, while the Jayhawks now have to see whether the adjustment gives them the spark they need against TCU. [Read more 🡒]