Nuggets get Housed by Suns

House ended with 12 points, while Shawn Marion led the Suns with 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Kurt Thomas scored a season-high 16 points and grabbed 16 rebounds and Steve Nash chipped in with 21 points and dished out 10 assists for the Suns, who snapped a two-game losing streak.

Marcus Camby poured in a season-high 33 points and grabbed 20 boards and Carmelo Anthony, who returned after missing Wednesday’s loss versus New Orleans/Oklahoma City with an ankle injury, scored 22 points in the loss.

Anthony started the game, but left with just under six minutes to play in the fourth quarter with tightness in his ankle.

Andre Miller added 18 points and dished out 10 assists for Denver, which lost its third in a row and second straight without head coach George Karl, who was serving a two-game suspension for publicly berating officials.

Trailing 79-77 with just under ten minutes to play, House caught fire. After Thomas’ three-point play, House drained a jumper from the left wing and buried another jump shot from the right corner. Nash then found him on the break, and he drained a three-pointer from the right wing. Finally, House connected on another jump shot that gave Phoenix a 89-79 lead and capped a 12-0 spurt.

Camby’s tap-in trimmed the deficit to 98-93 with just under three minutes to play, but Marion buried a trey from the left corner off of a great ball reversal to increase the margin back to eight, 101-93.

Two free throws by Camby got Denver within four, 101-97, with under a minute to go. After Marion missed an open trey from the left corner, Miller missed a three-pointer from the top of the circle to end the Nuggets’ chances.

Denver led 27-25 after the opening quarter, but Phoenix scored the first eight points of the second period. After Thomas drained a free throw, Boris Diaw- Riffiod buried a shot near the block and James Jones connected on a jump shot. House ended the quick spurt with a three-pointer to give the Suns a 33-27 advantage.

A 10-0 run later in the period gave Phoenix a 43-29 edge. Diaw scored five points during the spurt and Bell ended it with a deep three-pointer.

The Suns led 59-42 at the half, outscoring Denver 34-15 in the second stanza.

The game of runs continued in the third, as Denver concluded the period on an 11-0 spurt to take a 75-73 lead into the fourth. Miller started the run with a jumper and Eduardo Najera ended the period with two free throws. Camby scored five points during the stretch.

Game Notes

The Nuggets are 2-5 on the road this season...The Suns have won five straight games in the series...Phoenix is 6-4 at home this season...Diaw scored 15 points and Bell added 11 in the victory...Camby leads the league with 13 double-doubles.