Phoenix Suns

Suns Show Heart, Lose Close To The Nuggets

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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The Phoenix Suns lost another close game to the Denver Nuggets Sunday afternoon, dropping to 5-13 on the season with a 120-114 loss.

VS.

	1	2	3	4	T
Suns	28	15	36	35	114
Nuggets	29	34	23	34	120

Phoenix played shorthanded, and it showed, as Jared Dudley and TJ Warren both missed the matinee matchup with the Nuggets. The Suns, as they have been all season, played streaky and inconsistently and were down by as much as 20 points during the game. They continue to show heart and never gave up, closing the gap in the 4th quarter before coming up a little short.

Denver, improving to 7-10 on the season, was led by Wilson Chandler and Jameer Nelson who had 25 and 21 points, respectively. Whenever the Suns got close, either Chandler or Nelson seemed to hit a big 3 to stave off another Phoenix rally.

The Suns showed improvement shooting the 3 pointer, going 11-25 from beyond the arc. Phoenix

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also got great games from Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker. Bledsoe had a game high 35points, shooting 4-8 from 3 point range. Booker had 30 points on 11-27 shooting, including 4-10 from 3 point range. Bledsoe was aggressive all game long, and did a great job of picking his shots. Booker started a little slow in the first half, but caught fire down the stretch and helped lead the Suns’ comeback in the 2nd half. I thought Booker did a much better job in this game of letting the offense come to him. He seemed to pick better shots, not always hitting them, but not forcing things as I think he has done this season.

Alex Len had another quiet game offensively, compiling 5 points on 1-5 shooting. He’s struggling to convert inside at a high percentage. I’m beginning to think more and more than the Suns were wise to not sign him to an extension at this point in time. He’s looking more and more like a career backup to me. Conversely, Tyson Chandler really had a nice game. He’s definitely a catalyst on defense for the Suns, and had a few nice moves around the rim offensively as well. If he can stay healthy, he should be the Suns’ starting 5 for at least another season.

Marquese Chriss had a really disappointing game. He had 2 points to go with 5 personal fouls and a technical foul from the bench. He’s made some nice plays this season, but he needs to learn how to control his emotions and stay out of foul trouble. He was a complete non-factor in this game.

The Suns next host the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night at 7:00 PM MST.

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Phoenix Suns Trivia

Mike D’Antoni was the Denver Nuggets’ ahead Coach for the lockout shortened season of 1998-99.

What was his record against the Phoenix Suns that season?

Next: Phoenix Suns Trivia Answer

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Phoenix Suns Trivia Answer:

0-3

2/7 Suns defeat Nuggets 115-108