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Nuggets look to right ship vs. surging Sonics

Apr 1, 2007 - 3:55 PM Denver (35-36) at Seattle (30-42) 9:00 pm EDT

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The Denver Nuggets may not be playing like a postseason squad, but the Seattle SuperSonics surprisingly are.

The Nuggets look to snap a three-game skid Sunday when they visit the suddenly surging SuperSonics for the second time in four days.

After appearing poised to climb up the Western Conference standings, Denver is locked in a virtual tie with the Los Angeles Clippers (36-37) for seventh place overall. The two teams own a two-game lead over ninth-place Golden State (34-39).

Denver's superstar duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson looked to be gelling with the help of guard Linas Kleiza, who had two career-high scoring outputs during the Nuggets' five-game winning streak from March 11-20.

But Denver has since lost five of its last six games, including a 125-108 loss to Phoenix on Friday. Anthony had 32 points and 10 boards and Iverson added 26 points.

The Nuggets will look to get back on track when they face the Sonics, who have won five of their last seven games. But Seattle's surge is most likely too late as it sits 5 1/2 games behind eighth-place Los Angeles with 10 contests left.

The Sonics will look for their season-high fourth straight win without star guard Ray Allen, who is out for the season with an ankle injury.

Seattle posted a 120-93 victory over lowly Memphis on Friday. Nick Collison collected 22 points and 12 rebounds.