Suns Suffer Loss In Denver As Back-To-Back-To-Back Rolls On

The Phoenix Suns were bound to be shorthanded Tuesday night in the altitude of Denver, playing without Steve Nash and Grant Hill, two late-30s vets who were given the night off in the midst of the Suns' run of three games in three nights.

Call it altitude, road-weariness, playing in a place where they haven't won many games or whatever, but the Suns came up way short again at the Pepsi Center, falling 109-92.

The Suns (12-17) fell behind by 16 points in early in the second quarter, 37-21, before rallying behind Michael Redd's shooting. Redd, who finished with 20 points, hit a 3-pointer with 19.2 seconds left in the first half to cut Denver's lead to 56-51.

Problem was, most of the other Suns couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with their shooting. The Suns shot just 36 percent from the field at halftime and finished 33-for-99 for the game.

Still, the Suns fought their way back into the game with solid offensive play early in the third quarter. A Redd three-ball with 9:53 to go made it 62-59 Suns, and a little over a minute later, Redd struck again for three to tie the score at 62.

That seemed to jolt the Nuggets, who closed out the quarter with a 24-8 run to lead 86-70 going into the fourth quarter.

The Suns couldn't get back into the game, but did get a career high in points from rookie Markieff Morris, who scored 21. The Nuggets (17-12) played without physical big man Nene, but got 41 points from their bench led by the Birdman aka Chris Andersen, who scored 17 points, pulled down seven rebounds and blocked six shots in less than 22 minutes of action.

The Suns return home to face Atlanta tomorrow night. Phoenix is 7-10 on the road this season and has played only 12 home games, tied for second-fewest in the NBA with two other teams.

Suns Vs Nuggets: Steve Nash And Grant Hill To Rest Against Nuggets

With the first back-to-back-to-back set of games in this lockout shortened NBA season, the Phoenix Suns are making a lineup change for their Tuesday night game against the Denver Nuggets. Starters Steve Nash and Grant Hill will not play. Neither is suffering from an injury, but the team is deciding to sit them to give them rest.

In their place, Ronnie Price and Michael Redd will start.

For logistical purposes, this means that Jared Dudley will move over and be the starting small forward, while Redd takes the shooting guard spot.

Can the Suns afford to rest Nash? It is a risky proposal because of how the offense frequently bogs down without him. However, while looking at the season as a whole, it is a better idea to perhaps sacrifice a road game now than have Nash worn out an less effective down the stretch.

The Suns lineup now looks like this:

• C -- Marcin Gortat
• PF -- Channing Frye
• SF -- Jared Dudley
• SG -- Michael Redd
• PG -- Steve Nash

Phoenix Suns Vs. Denver Nuggets: TV Schedule, Lineups And Sucking Wind

The Phoenix Suns (12-16) get to climb right back on the saddle on Tuesday after a night filled with a disappointing loss to the Warriors, followed by a late night flight from the coast to the high mountain air of Denver, Colorado. Waiting patiently are a banged up Nuggets (16-12) team who played their last game Saturday.

Here's an update on the sorry state of the Nuggets health:

Suns Vs. Nuggets: Shorthanded Denver Team Tries For First Winning Streak Since January - SB Nation Denver
Nene (calf) and Timofey Mozgoz (ankle) are not expected to play on Tuesday, while Danilo Gallinari (ankle) is out, so it will be up to Ty Lawson, Al Harrington and Andre Miller to carry the load.

For the Suns, Steve Nash and Grant Hill played 35 and 34 minutes respectively last night and have a game scheduled at home on Wednesday against Atlanta. No word has come down from the mountains but it's certainly possible that Nash and Hill will be given the night off.

No matter who suits up for the Suns, the combination of the Rocky Mountain air and the schedule dis-fortune will leave the boys fighting their lungs and legs.

Projected Lineups:

• Point guard: Steve Nash (?) --- Ty Lawson
• Shooting guard: Jared Dudley -- Arron Afflalo
• Small forward: Grant Hill (?) -- Corey Brewer
• Power forward: Channing Frye -- Kenneth Faried
• Center: Marcin Gortat -- Kosta Koufos
• Key subs: Suns (Markieff Morris, Michael Redd, Ronnie Price, Shannon Brown,Hakim Warrick). Nuggets (Andre Miller, Rudy Fernandez, Al Harrington)

TV broadcast info:

The Suns game tips off at 7:00 p.m. Arizona time on Fox Sports Arizona. Arizona Sports 620 radio. Bright Side of the Sun will have the live game thread.

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Poor 4th Quarter Defense Dooms Suns, Lose 96-102 To Warriors

The Phoenix Suns cooled off Monday night as they fell 96-102 to the Golden State Warriors. The Suns have now lost two of their last three games and fall to 12-16 on the season. Marcin Gortat led the Suns with 25 points and 12 rebounds.

Considering the history of the two teams, the game was relatively low scoring as the Warriors shot 45.3% from the field and the Suns shot 46.3%. Phoenix led by seven after the first quarter and by four at halftime but Golden State continued to chip away in the second half.

David Lee led the way for the Warriors with 28 points and 12 rebounds. The Warriors' bench contributed with 28 points including Nate Robinson with 11 and Klay Thompson with 10.

The Suns could not get a stop in crunch time. According to a tweet from Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic, Phoenix at one point in the fourth quarter had two defensive stops in 22 Warrior possessions. The Warriors got crucial shots from Robinson and Ekpe Udoh to help seal the game.

Late in the fourth, the Suns pulled within three but after a missed three-point field goal from Jared Dudley, Golden State opened the lead up and never looked back. Phoenix shot 5-25 from three point land.

Tonight began a brutal stretch for the Suns which sees them play the dreaded three games in three days. A feat new to teams because of the shorten seasoned. Tomorrow the Suns visit Denver before a matchup with the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday at U.S. Airways Center.

Phoenix Suns Vs. Golden State Warriors: TV Schedule, Lineups, And More

The Phoenix Suns have a little roll going on with four wins in their last five game. The schedule is about to get dicey, however, with the dreaded three games in three days.