Denver on right road after beating Phoenix
PHOENIX» When asked about the Nuggets’ road woes this season, coach Michael Malone requested to consider the recent slate. Since Christmas, five of Denver’s seven games away from home entering Saturday were on the second night of a back-to-back set. The other two were against Golden State and Houston, the top two teams in the NBA’S Western Conference.
Saturday’s game against the Suns fell into the former category for the Nuggets, who got thrashed by the Rockets on Friday. And for much of its outing against Phoenix, Denver again looked lackluster against a short-handed Suns squad.
But behind huge second-half outbursts from Will Barton and Wilson Chandler and just enough defensive stops, the Nuggets snapped their sevengame road losing streak by pulling away to a 123-113 victory at Talking Stick Resort Arena.
“We don’t win that game without Wilson Chandler,” Malone said, adding: “I love it when he’s aggressive. And the great
thing about it is it wasn’t like we were calling his number every time. Our guys did a great job of finding him, and Wilson did the rest.”
The win helped Denver keep pace in the Western Conference playoff picture. The Nuggets entered Saturday a half game up on ninth-place New Orleans, which beat Brooklyn in double overtime, and percentage points behind the seventh-place Clippers, who lost at Philadelphia.
After trailing by seven points midway through the third quarter, Barton exploded for 16 of his 25 points to help the Nuggets take a 94-89 lead. A pull-up 3-pointer from Gary Harris extended that advantage to 10 points with 10:13 left in the game. Then Chandler (season-high 26 points) finished the job, sinking two 3-pointers from the right corner and a one-footed jumper to keep distance between the Nuggets and Suns en route to the double-digit victory.
Denver grabbed a victory in another game that lacked defense, even though the Suns were without star Devin Booker, starting point guard Tyler Ulis and big man Tyson Chandler. Both teams shot better than 51 percent, while Phoenix compiled 66 points in the paint and 20 on the fast break. TJ Warren scored a game-high 31 points and added five rebounds, while Dragan Bender added 23 points and eight rebounds.
“We didn’t defend at all tonight. I’m happy we won the game,” Malone said. “It was an important game for us to win. But I hate the fact that we did it without any defense.”
The Nuggets host San Antonio on Tuesday, then play at Milwaukee on Thursday before the all-star break.