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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
DENVER (AP) – Over the past two seasons, the Denver Nuggets have
had minimal success against the Phoenix Suns. Without their top two
players, the Nuggets had little chance Tuesday night.
Shawn Marion, playing for the first time in 10 days, scored 22
points on 10-of-12 shooting as the Suns beat depleted Denver 93-82.
Tom Gugliotta added 25 points and Jason Kidd had 8 points, 8
rebounds and 10 assists to help the Suns defeat Denver for the
seventh straight time since the opening game of the 1999-2000
season.
The Nuggets, who have lost four straight and 15 of 19, were
without starting point guard Nick Van Exel (bruised knee) and
All-Star forward Antonio McDyess (dislocated kneecap). The two
average a combined 38.8 points, 15.6 rebounds and 10.7 assists per
game.
"It was like a gift," Gugliotta said. "Those two guys can put
up big numbers and Van Exel is great in the fourth quarter. We knew
we had to jump on them anyway, but we were thankful that they had
two less weapons."
Suns coach Scott Skiles had little sympathy for the Nuggets.
Since Skiles took over as Phoenix's coach on Dec. 13, 1999, he has
dealt with long-term injuries to Kidd, Marion, Gugliotta and
Anfernee Hardaway.
"We are always without somebody," Skiles said. "I can
honestly say I don't feel real sorry for teams when they don't have
their key players because we spent most of the last year and a half
playing without key players almost all the time."
Robert Pack, starting in place of Van Exel, led the Nuggets with
22 points and George McCloud had 17.
"I think the effort was probably the best we could have given
under the circumstances," McCloud said. "Anytime you are missing
your two leaders, it's going to be tough. There isn't a moral
victory in this league. You want to win games, and we fell short
again."
Marion, who missed three games because of a concussion and a
sprained right wrist, hit 10 of his first 11 shots as the Suns took
control of the game early.
Marion had six points in a 10-0 run that gave Phoenix a 26-point
lead midway through the third quarter. Denver got within 11 in the
game's final minutes while the Suns starters watched from the
bench.
"I don't know what chance we had to win this game
realistically, but we played hard," Nuggets coach Dan Issel said.
The loss pushed the Nuggets to the brink of playoff extinction.
Denver (30-33) has fallen from the seventh spot in the West to
eight games behind eighth-place Minnesota. Phoenix (36-23) is
percentage points ahead of the Timberwolves.
Without a prominent scoring threat, the Nuggets were overmatched
from the start as the Suns used runs of 17-4 and 14-4 to build an
18-point halftime lead.
Phoenix shot 54 percent in the first half. Gugliotta was 7-of-10
and scored 17 points in 14 minutes and Marion had 12.
"I was tired at first. This elevation got to me, but I was all
right," Marion said. "I don't have my legs like I want. I
couldn't jump like I wanted to. It will come back, though."
Game notes
After scoring a season-low 29 points in the second half of
a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night, Denver scored
35 in the first half Tuesday. ... Phoenix has held its opponent
under 50 percent shooting in 21 straight. ... Denver has scored
fewer than 90 points in four straight. ... Skiles improved to 7-0
against the Nuggets. He also has not lost to Atlanta (4-0), Chicago
(2-0) or Cleveland (2-0). ... Gugliotta, still recovering from knee
surgery, scored 19 points and had 13 rebounds against the Nuggets
on Saturday.
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NBA Scoreboard
Phoenix Clubhouse
Denver Clubhouse
RECAPS
Minnesota 95
Charlotte 89
New York 97
Indiana 83
Chicago 87
Cleveland 74
Phoenix 93
Denver 82
Sacramento 98
Toronto 91
Vancouver 105
Portland 97
San Antonio 101
Seattle 73
LA Lakers 97
Golden State 85
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