Denver Nuggets Suffer Worst Defeat Of Year
By Andrew Dill
Dec 20, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Marcus Morris (15) celebrates with forward Markieff Morris (11) during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Suns won 103-99. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
The Denver Nuggets offense was firing on all cylinders early in the game Friday night against the Phoenix Suns, but the Suns would rally behind a 21 point deficit defeating the Nuggets 103-99.
Wilson Chandler would start out red-hot for the Nuggets, knocking down two three-pointers as he scored 12 early points putting Denver ahead 22-14. Anthony Randolph would get some minutes tonight after Jordan Hamilton was suspended for one game after he threw a punch at Thunder center Steven Adams. Randolph played well as he would get a lay-up putting Denver up by nine. Denver would end up leading for the first time after the first quarter in their last ten games, 28-20 over Phoenix.
Evan Fournier would get some minutes also as the guard would get a lay-up, putting Denver up 45-26 in the second quarter. Right after, Phoenix would call a time-out as Nate Robinson got in Goran Dragic‘s face, resulting in a technical foul, Nate’s fourth of the season. Eric Bledsoe was relatively quiet as the guard would score his first basket in the third quarter knocking down the three as Phoenix trailed Denver by 19 points at that point. Markieff Morris would knock down two consecutive jump-shots along with two free-throws to bring the lead to within 14. Denver would end up leading 62-48 at the half.
Denver would take their foot off of the petal in the third quarter as Gerald Green would emerge off of the Phoenix Sun’s bench. The forward would knock down two three-pointers to bring the Denver lead to within 10, 79-69. Phoenix would start the game 5-of-19 from three, but at this point they were 3-for-4 on their last four attempts. Green would knock down another three that was wide-open as the Denver defense was nowhere to be found. Nate Robinson would finish off the third quarter with a lay-up as Denver took the lead, 82-72 heading into the fourth.
Markieff Morris would begin the fourth with the hot-hand, converting the and-one giving the Phoenix Suns life. The forward would keep the streak going as he knocked down a three putting the Suns on a 16-to-5 run. The Suns kept pushing the pace as Green would knock down yet another three-point jumper to only trail Denver by four. Dragic would score the lay-up to give Phoenix their first lead since they led 2-0 to start the game. Darrell Arthur would come on for Denver scoring on two-straight possessions to give them the one point lead, 97-96. Goran Dragic would essentially seal the deal for Phoenix as he would convert two free-throws and a jumper to pull ahead 101-97. Randy Foye would have a good look from three when Denver was down 102-99, but the guard’s struggles would continue as it rimmed out. He did put together a solid game nonetheless, scoring 14 points. Phoenix would hold on by the final score of 103-99 to rally back from a 21-point deficit.
The Denver Nuggets (14-11) will be back at it tomorrow night as they play the Los Angeles Clippers on the road. Tip-off is scheduled for 10:30 PM ET, 8:30 PM MT.