NBA Game Summary - Phoenix at Denver

Denver, CO (Basketball News) - Steve Nash finished with 25 points, 11 assists and six rebounds and Joe Johnson collected 23 points and 11 boards, as the Phoenix Suns downed the Denver Nuggets, 106-101, at America West Arena.

Shawn Marion posted 19 points and 15 rebounds for the Suns, who bounced back from Friday’s 20-point home loss to Houston to win for the fifth time in six games. Phoenix also moved one-half game ahead of idle San Antonio for the top spot in the Western Conference.

Amare Stoudemire recorded 13 points and nine boards while Quentin Richardson chipped in 11 points in the win.

Kenyon Martin ended with 21 points and nine rebounds and Earl Boykins added 20 points and nine assists for the Nuggets, who had their season-high winning streak halted at eight games. Denver was also trying to make it back-to-back wins over the top two teams in the Western Conference after defeating San Antonio on Saturday.

Wesley Person and Greg Buckner posted 14 points apiece for the Nuggets.

"Obviously this was not our greatest defensive effort tonight," said Denver coach George Karl. "I’m disappointed we didn’t get the momentum going and sustain it."

The Suns were ahead 82-77 at the end of three quarters, but Denver opened the final period with a 13-3 spurt to take the lead for the first time since late in the second quarter. Person dominated the run, drilling a trio of three- pointers in the stretch, but it was Martin’s dunk that gave the Nuggets a 90-85 lead with 7:03 left. That’s when Phoenix responded with an 11-2 run of its own to grab a 96-92 cushion.

Boykins drilled a three-pointer to make it a 96-95 game with 3:14 remaining, but that was as close as Denver would get. Richardson hit a three-pointer to make it 102-97 with 1:10 left and Marion and Nash combined to hit 4-of-4 free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

The Nuggets started the game on a 10-4 run, but Phoenix responded with a 13-6 stretch to grab its first lead at 17-16. The Suns would hold a 27-23 advantage after one quarter of play.

Phoenix pushed its lead to 35-27 after Richardson hit a pair of foul shots early in the second quarter. However, Denver answered that with a 17-8 stretch to grab a one-point advantage. Andre Miller’s layup capped the surge and gave Denver a 44-43 lead with 3:09 left. Still, the Suns held a 53-52 edge at halftime.

Martin led all players with 14 points at the break, while Johnson paced Phoenix with 13.

The Suns held the one-point lead at halftime, but pushed that to 72-60 with a 19-8 burst to start the third quarter. Johnson scored six points in the run, including a basket to end the spurt with 5:45 remaining. The Nuggets were able to cut into the lead and trailed by just five points after 36 minutes.