Photo: Associated Press
Wilson Chandler dropped a season high 26 points in the Nuggets 123-113 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
The Nuggets battled through adversity on the second night of a back-to-back finding a way to get a huge victory against the Suns in Phoenix. After a 26 point loss to the Houston Rockets just last night, the Nuggets got huge games from Wilson Chandler and Will Barton to prevail them to victory over the Suns. Barton scored 25 points on 10-14 from the field and shot 4-6 from behind the three-point line. Barton sprained his ankle midway though the second half, but powered through the injury leading the Nuggets in minutes with 42.
Big Buckets Barton! pic.twitter.com/9UYSBrAtgA
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 11, 2018
Barton’s gutsy performance rubbed off on Chandler who scored a season high 26 points on 11-15 from the field, 3-4 from behind the three-point pine. Chandler’s shot was working all night and his drive to basket was open all game. Whenever Chandler wanted to score, he had no problem doing so and it was refreshing to see from a guy who has struggled most of the season. If Chandler is able to build off tonights performance, the Nuggets could be even more dangerous in the Western Conference’s playoff push.
Yeah, uh, no. pic.twitter.com/ciXa00Kdx2
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 11, 2018
The Nuggets struggled to stop Suns newly acquired point guard Elfrid Payton who had a strong game scoring 19 points, while also dishing out nine assists. TJ Warren also had a strong game for the Suns with a team high 31 points on 13-17 from the field. The Suns were without Devin Booker and Tyson Chandler and both Warren and Payton did a great job picking up the slack for the Suns.
The Nuggets had a debut of their own as Devin Harris played his first game in a Nuggets uniform after the team acquired him before Thursday’s trade deadline. Harris’s steady play could be noticed as soon as he stepped on the court as he was very active on both ends of the court. Harris scored nine points, hauled in three rebounds, and chipped in two steals on the defensive end of the court. Recording a team high +17, Harris gave Nuggets fans a nice preview of the veteran leadership he’s going to provide the team for the remainder of the season.
We've doubled the number of Harris' we have making plays.
That's a very important, but often overlooked, made up statistic. pic.twitter.com/3KWjOzYmDa
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 11, 2018
The victory moved the Nuggets record to 30-26 and moves them a whole game ahead of the Los Angeles Clippers for the seventh spot in the West. The win over the Suns was the Nuggets first road victory since December 23rd when they beat the Golden State Warriors 96-81. The Nuggets will now have two days off before they’re back in action Tuesday night against the San Antonio Spurs.
