The Denver Nuggets are gearing up for the NBA regular season in fashion, as they defeated the Phoenix Suns 110-85 on Thursday night to close out the two-game preseason schedule. The Nuggets also beat the Suns on Dec. 20, and now they can go into their regular season opener against the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 26 with at least a little bit of momentum.
Denver got off to a really strong start on Thursday night before letting the Suns get back into things, but they got ahold of the lead once again in the third quarter and pulled away in the fourth. Late in the third quarter, the Nuggets were leading 77-71, but they proceeded to go on a 18-3 run that basically put the game out of Phoenix's reach.
Danilo Gallinari powered the Nuggets' offense with 23 points, and Corey Brewer came off the bench to put up 20 points. The team's starting backcourt, Andre Miller and Arron Afflalo, struggled with its shot, making just 4 of 16 attempts, but Miller did throw up another double-digit assist total.
The Suns struggled offensively for most of the night, with Steve Nash competing the game with just five points. The team shot a combined 37 percent from the field, 30 percent from three-point range and 63 percent from the free throw line, so in general this was just one of those nights for Phoenix. Jared Dudley led the team in scoring with 17 points and Hakim Warrick scored 15 off the bench, but it was a lackluster effort in general.
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