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Suns look to rebound against Nuggets

Mar 17, 2007 - 4:23 PM Phoenix (50-15) at Denver (32-31)

DENVER (Ticker) - The Phoenix Suns may have had a letdown in their last contest. They can't afford another one against the streaking Denver Nuggets.

The Suns aim for their ninth win in their last 10 games when the two teams face off on Saturday.

Phoenix posted one of its most dramatic wins of the season on Wednesday with a 129-127 double-overtime victory over league-leading Dallas. But the Suns looked sluggish in a 105-83 loss against surging Detroit on Friday.

With the loss, Phoenix fell 3 1/2 games behind Dallas (53-11) in the race for the top spot in the Western Conference and the NBA's best record. Amare Stoudemire continued his strong play, collecting 24 points and 15 rebounds.

The star forward collected 36 points and 13 rebounds as the Suns posted a 113-108 victory at Denver on February 5. The Nuggets were without injured superstar Allen Iverson and center Marcus Camby in that contest but will be at full strength on Saturday.

Denver has won three straight games thanks to the stellar play of Linas Kleiza, who scored a career-high 29 points in a 113-86 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday. Kleiza notched his second career 20-point game after netting 24 at Sacramento earlier in the week.

Iverson has shown a different side of his game during the winning streak. The four-time scoring champion, who has been maligned for his penchant dominate the ball in years past, has decided to be a playmaker.

On Thursday, the All-Star guard scored just 14 points on 4-of-15 shooting but dished out 14 assists.

Denver is just one game behind the sixth-place Los Angeles Lakers (34-32) in the Western Conference.