The Denver Nuggets play the Phoenix Suns at Ball Arena on Saturday in an important Western Conference showdown. Both teams enter this matchup riding gritty wins—Denver defeated the Sacramento Kings, and Phoenix came back with an improbable win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Nuggets Looking to Build Momentum Before Tough Stretch
After opening February with nine consecutive victories, the Nuggets have stumbled, compiling a 3-3 record over their last six games. A 110-103 loss to the Boston Celtics revealed some vulnerabilities, but Denver responded with an 87-68 turnaround against the Kings, avoiding back-to-back losses for the first time since late January.
The Reigning champion, behind Nikola Jokic (22 points), Jamal Murray (24) and Russell Westbrook (25), are now third in the West. With Oklahoma City seemingly gusting past every team in its path, Denver’s best approach is to secure the No. 2 seed to push a possible meeting with the Thunder to the conference finals.
With two key showdowns with Oklahoma City on the immediate horizon, a victory over Phoenix would be a critical confidence booster to Michael Malone’s group.
Suns Trying to Stay Alive in the Playoffs
In Theory, the Suns have enough star power to already be a postseason lock, but their up-and-down play finds them fighting merely for a postseason invitation. Even so, sitting 11th in the West, Phoenix is still three wins off the Dallas Mavericks in 10th place, and further behind sixth-place Golden State.
Wednesday’s stunning 119-117 comeback victory over the Clippers was a needed lifeline. But Phoenix, down 23 points late in the third quarter, fought back, led by a heroic fourth quarter from Kevin Durant and Collin Gillespie, who scored 29 points between them in the game’s final stretch.
That resolve will have to become standard if the Suns want to rise into the top six. Given a punishing stretch of games to come with showdowns against almost every club currently ahead of them in the standings, the Suns have little margin for error.
Team News & Expected Lineups
Julian Strawther (knee) is also out for the Nuggets for another four weeks, and Aaron Gordon (ankle) is out as well. DaRon Holmes II (Achilles) is progressing but probably won't play Saturday.
Cody Martin (sports hernia) continues to wait for his Suns debut after joining from Charlotte. Bradley Beal, who left early against the Clippers with a calf injury, is a huge doubt. If Beal is out, Gillespie could get more of a shot after his nice performance.
Projected Starting Lineups:
Nuggets: Westbrook, Murray, Braun, Porter Jr., Jokic
Suns: Booker, Allen, Durant, Bol, Richards
Prediction: Nuggets to Win by 6+ Points
This is the last six times these teams have played each other, They have split evenly, three apiece. But the Nuggets have the advantage with their superior home record and the Suns’ inconsistency. This will be a tough fight, but Denver should prevail is the believe.
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