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Nuggets attempt climb in standings against Suns

Mar 5, 2008 - 2:37 PM Phoenix (40-20) at Denver (35-24) 9:00 pm EST

DENVER (Ticker) - The Denver Nuggets know they need to finish strong to have any shot of making the playoffs.

Two of the top four scoring offenses in the league will meet on Wednesday when the Nuggets host the Phoenix Suns.

Denver - the league's fourth-most potent offense at 107.3 points per game - begins a four-game stretch against likely Western Conference playoff teams on Wednesday. They host the Spurs (42-17) on Friday before hitting the road for two games against the Utah Jazz (39-22) on Saturday before meeting the Spurs again on Monday.

The Nuggets lost, 103-89, to the Houston Rockets (39-20) on Sunday, another team they are trying to move past in the standings.

Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points and Allen Iverson added 17 in the loss, just the second time all season that the high-scoring duo have each been held under the 20-point mark in the same game.

Denver will attempt to snap their its two-game losing streak in this series against Phoenix, which is the second-highest scoring team in the league at 109.2 points per game. The Suns already owns a win over the Nuggets this season, 137-115, on January 7.

Phoenix improved to 3-4 since the arrival of 14-time All-Star Shaquille O'Neal on Tuesday with a 97-92 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Amare Stoudemire scored 22 points and Steve Nash added 19 for the Suns.