Danilo Gallinari had his second big night in as many games against the Suns, guiding the Denver Nuggets to a 123-112 victory in Phoenix on Saturday. Denver was without their leading scorer, Nikola Jokic, who is day-to-day after leaving Thursday’s home victory over Phoenix with a left hip flexor strain.
Gallinari scored 32 points in the win on Saturday, his season high on the year and seven points better than his effort on Thursday night. Gallinari was a perfect 11-for-11 for the free-throw line, part of a 36-for-42 effort by the Nuggets on the night. Kenneth Faried was 9-for-11 from the line and Jameer Nelson was 7-for-8 in the win. Faried had 13 rebounds in the win.
Eric Bledsoe scored 41 points for Phoenix in the loss, one point higher than his previous career high scored last Sunday. Tyson Chandler had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds, but Phoenix couldn’t get their offense going in the third period as Denver found their way to the line time and again, outscoring the Suns 36-22 in the period.
The win is Denver’s third in a row and seventh in their last nine games. Denver is climbing towards .500 at 21-25. Along with Jokic, Emmanuel Mudiay was out of the lineup again with a back injury.
