Suns at Nuggets
The Phoenix Suns trounced Denver last Saturday and attempt to register
another victory over the host Nuggets on Friday. Guard Eric Bledsoe
operated at will with 30 points in three quarters as the Suns led by as
many as 37 points while running off with a 105-81 victory.
The convincing win over the Nuggets was one of three during a four-game homestand that ended Wednesday with a 103-97 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Bledsoe had 21 points in the loss to Chicago for his sixth consecutive 20-point outing, and he is averaging 24.7 points during the stretch. Denver is beginning a four-game homestand after concluding a three-game road trip with a 109-98 defeat against the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday. The Nuggets have topped 100 points in all six of their victories but have reached the century mark just once in their six defeats.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE SUNS (6-5): Phoenix small forward P.J. Tucker has been losing minutes to backup T.J. Warren but took advantage of Warren's absence to score 20 points in the loss to Chicago. Warren was out with the flu so Tucker matched a season high by playing 34 minutes and fell two points shy of his career high. Warren has scored 17 or more points in three of his past four games and the Suns hope to have him back for Friday's contest.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (6-6): Rookie center Nikola Jokic played only 25 minutes in a three-game span before emerging to post 23 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots against the powerful Spurs. The 20-year-old from Serbia saw just one minute of action in Tuesday's victory over New Orleans before suddenly seeing 32 minutes of action the following night. "My performance really doesn't matter because we lost," Jokic told reporters. "We had a really bad game - they scored 109 points and that's too much. They had too many open shots. We must do better on defense."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Suns have won seven of the past eight meetings.
2. Denver rookie PG Emmanuel Mudiay is 14-of-54 from the field over the past four games and is shooting a porous 30.5 percent for the season.
3. Phoenix PF Markieff Morris (knee) returned from a two-game absence to play against Chicago but had just six points in 29 minutes.