Suns at Nuggets
The Phoenix Suns are in a downward spiral and aiming to post a much-needed victory when they visit the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday. Phoenix has dropped five straight games and eight of its last nine during a dissension-based period that included the trades of point guards Goran Dragic and Isaiah Thomas. A squad that sat in eighth place in the Western Conference has dropped below both the Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans.
The Nuggets are way out of the playoff picture and have lost 16 of their last 18 games, including seven straight at home. The latest one was embarrassingly bad as Denver was routed 110-82 by the Brooklyn Nets on Monday. The Suns have struggled on the road of late with seven straight losses since registering a 113-111 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jan. 7.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, FSN Arizona (Phoenix), Altitude (Denver)
ABOUT THE SUNS (29-28): Brandon Knight was acquired in the deadline dealing to be part of a two-headed point guard with Eric Bledsoe, and the latter isn’t ready to wave good-bye to a playoff spot. “As bad as it may seem, we’re still not out of it,” Bledsoe told reporters. “At the end of the day, we still got to think positive. We got a Denver team that’s struggling just like we are, so we’re looking forward to going in and trying to get a win.” Knight is averaging 16.5 points and 4.5 assists in his first two games while Bledsoe is averaging 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds during the same stretch.
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (20-36): Denver is averaging just 85.7 points over its last three defeats and lost the past two games by an average of 26.5 points. Power forward Kenneth Faried left with a thumb injury against the Nets but he also has been unproductive over the past four games by averaging four points on 7-of-25 shooting to go with 5.5 rebounds. Small forward Danilo Gallinari is 6-of-11 from 3-point range while averaging 19 points over the past two games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Phoenix had a five-game winning streak in the series halted by Denver’s 122-97 win on Nov. 28.
2. Suns C Alex Len is averaging 9.7 points, 11 rebounds and 4.3 blocked shots over the past three games.
3. Nuggets SF Wilson Chandler (groin) could miss his second straight game.