Phoenix Suns' Monte Morris, other ex-Nuggets had 'extra edge' in preseason win

Monte Morris and the Phoenix Suns ' other backup point guard Collin Gillespie played with an "extra edge" in their 118-114 preseason win at Denver Nuggets on Sunday.

That also applies to their teammates Bol Bol and Mason Plumlee, who are among Suns' players who once played for Denver along with Morris and Gillespie.

"Any time you play your former team, you're gonna have an extra edge and chip on your shoulder," Morris said about Gillespie at the Suns' practice Tuesday. "I'm sure he felt that, just like I did."

Suns' starting center Jusuf Nurkic, who was out for Phoenix's fourth straight game with an injured finger, also was with Denver from 2014-17. He came to Phoenix last year from Portland in a three-team deal.

Plumlee, a 12-year veteran big, scored four points and added seven rebounds and one steal in 15 minutes. Plumlee played for Denver from 2017-20. Three of the other ex-Nuggets scored in double figures and shot at least 50% in the road win.

In addition to Nurkic, the Suns' other usual starters sat out the Denver game. Devin Booker was out with a sore ankle. Tyus Jones, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal were rested. They were replaced by backup big Plumlee, Bol, Morris, rookie forward Ryan Dunn, and wing Royce O'Neale (17 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block).

Morris had 20 points on 7-of-12 FG, hit four treys, team-high seven assists, and two steals, his best performance since joining the team on a one-year deal this past offseason. He was drafted by the Nuggets out of Iowa State in 2017, and was on Denver's roster until he was traded to Washington in 2022.

Bol scored 14, hit 5-of-10, matched Morris on four triples, grabbed the team-high eight rebounds, and had one block. He was a second-round pick by the Nuggets out of Oregon in 2019, and stayed in Denver until he was traded to Orlando three years later.

Gillespie, one of the Suns' three two-way players alongside TyTy Washington Jr and rookie Jalen Bridges, scored 12, added six assists, one steal and a block with two turnovers in 22 minutes off the bench. Gillespie was signed as an undrafted free agent by Villanova in 2022.

Dunn tying Morris for the team-high 20 points became the biggest story of the Denver game, as he shot 6-of-11 from deep. It was Gillespie's penetration into the paint and kick-outs to Dunn outside the arc that assisted Dunn's final three makes from 3 late in the fourth quarter.

"I just feel like it's always fun competing against who you used to be in the locker room with, but his growth is amazing," Morris added about Gillespie. "For him to see me and Tyus match up and go at it every day and pick different stuff up, that he always has and putting it into his bag, it just opens up everything."

Morris said last week that he's having "fun" bantering with Booker about their past playoff matchups and playing with Phoenix thus far. Morris had just as much fun in the Suns-Nuggets matchup against his former teammates in the Mile High City.

"It's good to see, man. Just go back out there competing against Jamal, Nikola, (Nuggets coach Mike) Malone and those guys, so it's cool," Morris said.

The Suns play their final preseason game at home Thursday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. The regular season opens next Wednesday on the road against the Los Angeles Clippers.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns' Monte Morris, other ex-Nuggets had 'extra edge' in preseason win