Who’s playing
Phoenix Suns@Denver Nuggets
Current records: Phoenix 35-26, Denver 42-19
How to watch
What there is to know
The Suns have played four games at home but will soon have to dust off their jerseys on the road. They will face the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET at Ball Arena. The Suns might want some stickum for this contest since the team allowed 21 turnovers on Sunday.
Last Sunday, Phoenix failed against the Thunder and lost 118-110. The Suns jumped out to an early lead (up by 13 with 5:50 left in the first quarter), but unfortunately, they weren’t able to maintain that momentum.
The defeat of the Suns should not overshadow the performances of Bradley Beal, author of 31 points and six assists, and Jusuf Nurkic who achieved a double-double with 14 points and 31 rebounds. Beal didn’t help the Suns’ cause much against the Rockets on Saturday, but the same can’t be said for this game.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets had already won five in a row (a stretch in which they outscored their opponents by an average of 15.6 points), and they went ahead and made it six on Saturday. They came away with a 124-114 victory over Los Angeles.
The Nuggets’ success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Nikola Jokic led the charge by posting a double-double with 35 points and ten rebounds. Jokic didn’t help the Nuggets’ cause much against the Heat on Thursday, but the same can’t be said for this contest. Another player who made the difference was Michael Porter Jr., who shot 5 of 5 from deep and had a double-double with 25 points and ten rebounds.
Phoenix’s loss dropped their record to 35-26. As for Denver, they’ve been on a roll lately: they’ve won nine of their last 12 games, which is a nice improvement to their 42-19 record this season.
Tuesday’s game is shaping up to be a shooting masterclass: The Suns simply can’t miss this season, hitting 49.5 percent of their shots per game (they’re ranked fourth in field goal percentage ). However, it’s not like the Nuggets (currently ranked fourth in field goal percentage) are struggling in that department as they’ve made 49.4 percent of their shots this season. Given these competing forces, it will be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
The Suns should know they are fighting an uphill battle given the 9.5-point spread they face. This contest may not be the best time to bet them against the spread since they have let bettors down the last three times they have played.
Odds
Denver is a 9.5-point favorite against Phoenix, according to the latest NBA Odds.
The line drifted a bit toward the Nuggets, as the game opened with the Nuggets as 7.5-point favorites.
The over/under is 224 points.
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History of the series
Denver has won 6 of its last 10 games against Phoenix.
- December 1, 2023 – Denver 119 vs. Phoenix 111
- May 11, 2023 – Denver 125 vs. Phoenix 100
- May 9, 2023 – Denver 118 vs. Phoenix 102
- May 7, 2023 – Phoenix 129 vs. Denver 124
- May 5, 2023 – Phoenix 121 vs. Denver 114
- May 1, 2023 – Denver 97 vs. Phoenix 87
- April 29, 2023 – Denver 125 vs. Phoenix 107
- April 6, 2023 – Phoenix 119 vs. Denver 115
- March 31, 2023 – Phoenix 100 vs. Denver 93
- January 11, 2023 – Denver 126 vs. Phoenix 97
