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Opponents scorching Suns' poor defense

Dec 20, 2008 - 1:37 PM Denver (17-9) at Phoenix (15-11) 9:00 p.m. EST

PHOENIX (Ticker) -- The Phoenix Suns have dedicated themselves to improving their defense under a new coach. The shift in philosophies is still a work in progress.

The Suns look to bounce back from a poor defensive effort when they host the Denver Nuggets on Saturday.

One of the top scoring teams in the NBA over the past several seasons under coach Mike D'Antoni, Phoenix decided before the campaign that it needed to improve its defense, hiring Terry Porter to do just that.

However, the Suns have surrendered at least 100 points in each of their last 11 games, including a 124-119 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

Phoenix had several chances to take control of the game against the Trail Blazers, but could not stop Brandon Roy, who recorded a career-high 52 points, nearly snapping the Suns' two-game win streak single-handedly.

The Nuggets have improved on the defensive end of the floor since acquiring Chauncey Billups from the Detroit Pistons on November 3.

But Denver failed to slow down LeBron James on Friday, as the superstar scored 33 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists en route to a 105-88 victory.

The loss was the Nuggets' second in a row, marking the first time the team has lost back-to-back games with Billups in the lineup.