Nuggets stay unbeaten at home, take 3-2 lead on Suns behind Nikola Jokic triple-double

The Denver Nuggets held serve at home.

Center Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets defeated the Phoenix Suns 118-102 Tuesday to take a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven series. The two-time MVP had a triple-double in Denver’s dominant win, recording 29 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists.

Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. each had 19 points, and Bruce Brown scored 25 off the bench for the Nuggets.

Suns shooting guard Devin Booker, who is having an historic start to the playoffs, scored 28 for Phoenix.

The Nuggets are now just one win away from advancing to the Western Conference finals.

No bad blood:Nuggets' Nikola Jokic tosses ball to Suns owner Mat Ishbia, shakes his hand before Game 5

Here are some takeaways from Game 5 of this Western Conference semifinal playoff series:

Denver gets off to hot start in first half

Denver got off to a 9-0 start. Porter scored 14 points in the first quarter. He was 4-of-5 from 3-point range. The Nuggets stormed out to a 15-point lead in the first half, but it was erased in the second quarter. Denver had just a 52-49 lead at halftime.

Nuggets pull away in third quarter

Just like the first quarter, the Nuggets got hot behind timely baskets from Jokic, which helped the squad jump out to a 21-point lead.

Jokic had 17 points in the third quarter on 7-of-8 shooting. Murray contributed with seven points in the third.

The Nuggets as a team shot 70% in the quarter as they outscored the Suns 39-25.

Denver’s big third quarter was the catalyst behind its win.

Tempers flare in third quarter

Brown and Jokic walked over to the Suns' huddle. The gesture agitated Kevin Durant, who pushed Jokic away and was immediately assessed a technical foul. The referees went to the monitor to review what happened and also gave Brown a technical for his part.  

Devin Booker cools off

After an historically hot start to the series, Booker came back to earth.

He still led the Suns in scoring but was 8-for-19 shooting, resulting in a 42% field goal percentage.

Booker scored 83 combined points in Games 3 and 4 on an extraordinarily efficient 34-of-43 shooting from the floor. He became the first player in NBA history to score 30 or more points with a 75% or better field goal percentage in consecutive postseason games, per Stathead.

Home court advantage

The Nuggets have won all three of their games this series at home — and won all three games in Denver in its first-round series against Minnesota — but they haven’t registered a win in Arizona.

Game 6 is Thursday at the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix.

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on Twitter @TheTylerDragon.