Nuggets 119, Suns 92
Arron Afflalo scored 11 of his 20 points during a decisive run in the third quarter and the Denver Nuggets never trailed en route to a 109-92 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Tuesday in a game missing a combined five starters.
Ty Lawson scored 17 points, Chris Andersen added a season-high 16 and rookie Kenneth Faried had a season-high 13 as the Nuggets won their second straight game after losing five in a row.
Rookie Markieff Morris scored a season-high 21 points and Michael Redd added a season-high 20 for the Suns, who were playing their second of three games in three nights.
Denver’s Danilo Gallinari (foot), Nene (calf) and Timofey Mozgov (ankle) were out injured, while the Suns decided to rest 38-year-old Steve Nash and Grant Hill, 39, who both logged more than 30 minutes in Monday’s 102-96 loss at Golden State.
Phoenix trailed by as many as 16 in the second quarter before tying the game at 62 in the third on Redd’s 3-pointer.
The Nuggets, though, responded as Afflalo capped a 16-4 run and his personal burst with a 3-pointer. Denver went on to take an 86-70 lead after three quarters and led by as many as 22 in the fourth.
The Nuggets led only 58-51 at halftime despite shooting 60.5 percent compared to Phoenix’s 35.8. Lawson was 4 for 4 from the field and at the foul line for 12 points in the opening 24 minutes.