Suns at Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets have made big strides over the past two weeks but still can’t manage to climb above .500. The Nuggets will try to get back to even when they host the Phoenix Suns in the back end of a home-and-home set on Friday. Denver was traveling to the second night of a back-to-back on Wednesday and ran out of steam in the second half as the Suns pulled out a 120-112 win behind Eric Bledsoe’s 21 points and 10 assists.
The Nuggets had won five straight to reach 7-7 before falling flat in Phoenix but can still be optimistic about seven different players scoring at least eight points and a burst over energy over the final minutes to make the score respectable. Phoenix was coming off a long road trip and was missing leading scorer Isaiah Thomas due to an ankle injury but put together its usual balanced offensive effort as three different players scored at least 20 points and five reached 14. The Suns have won four of their last five on the road.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE SUNS (10-6): Thomas suffered the ankle injury late in Monday’s 104-100 loss at Toronto and is day-to-day, opening up even more scoring opportunities off the bench for Gerald Green. The 28-year-old swingman responded by hitting six 3-pointers and rattling the rim with a monster dunk en route to a game-high 24 points against the Nuggets. Green has scored in double figures in five straight games and is 13-of-25 from 3-point range over the last three contests
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (7-8): Denver has not had a winning record since taking down Detroit on opening night to improve to 1-0. Leading the surge of late is point guard Ty Lawson, who posted his fifth double-double in six games with 17 points and 12 assists on Wednesday and is averaging 17.5 points and 12.7 assists over those six contests. Lawson struggled from the floor against the Suns, however, going 1-of-7 from 3-point range and 4-of-16 overall for his worst shooting performance since Nov. 3.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Nuggets F Danilo Gallinari left Wednesday’s game with soreness in his left knee and is day-to-day.
2. Suns F Markieff Morris had 15 points and 10 rebounds on Wednesday for his first double-double since Nov. 4.
3. Phoenix won both its trips to Denver last season.