Notebook: Nuggets 109, Suns 92

Posted Wednesday February 15, 2012 1:14AM

By Michael Kelly, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Arron Afflalo scored 20 points, Ty Lawson added 17 and the Denver Nuggets beat the shorthanded Phoenix Suns 109-92 on Tuesday night.

Chris Andersen had 16 points, seven rebounds and six blocks and Kenneth Faried had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Nuggets, who ended a five-game skid at home.

Rookie Markieff Morris had 21 points and Michael Redd had 20 for the Suns, who played without Steve Nash and Grant Hill.

QUOTABLE: "Phoenix kind of gave us some slack by not playing Nash."
-- Denver coach George Karl

THE STAT: After getting the dreaded DNP-CD in five of the last seven games, Andersen had a breakout performance. It was the third time in his career he has had at least 15 points, five rebounds and five blocks in one game.

TURNING POINT: After the Suns tied it at 62 on Redd's nine quick points to start the third, the Nuggets defense took over. Lawson had two steals, one of which led to a clear-path foul, and Kosta Koufas had two blocks to spark a 24-8 run to finish the third quarter.

HOT: Afflalo has struggled at times this season but came up big when the Nuggets needed him. He scored 13 of his points after Phoenix had tied the game. He hit two 3-pointers and two free throws to give Denver an 86-70 lead heading into the fourth. He is averaging 23 points over his last three games.

NOT: The Suns weren't sharp on either end of the court. Denver had 54 points in the paint and shot 52 percent from the field while Phoenix shot just 33 percent in the game.

QUOTABLE II: "You can't win in this league with numbers like that. Very rarely do you see that happen when you can get a win playing like that. It wasn't from a lack of effort. Just couldn't execute tonight. A lot of miscues. Tough way to lose like that."
-- Redd

GOOD MOVE: The game was well in hand with Denver up 20 but Afflalo was still playing hard. He hustled back to block Jared Dudley's layup attempt early in the fourth quarter, bringing the crowd to its feet in approval.

QUOTABLE III: "I just wanted to be an example. We haven't had the best energy on our home floor, so trying to show that energy for our home fans, to have that energy for 48 minutes was what it was about more than making a play."
-- Afflalo

BAD MOVE: With the game still close, the Suns got sloppy and quick-tempered. Ronnie Price, starting for Nash, had a lazy pass picked off by Lawson and then grabbed him to draw a clear-path foul. Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry added to the frustration by picking up a technical arguing the call and the Suns never recovered.

ROOKIE WATCH: Morris was solid. He came in averaging 7.5 points and gave the Suns some valuable points off the bench, scoring 13 points in the first half when Phoenix cut a 16-point deficit to five at the break.

NOTABLE: Andersen now has 605 blocks as a Nugget. He passed Antonio McDyess for sixth all-time on the franchise list. ... Redd scored 20 points for the first time since going for 32 against Washington on Dec. 23, 2009.

UP NEXT: For the Suns, Wednesday vs. Atlanta, Friday @ L.A. Lakers, Sunday vs. L.A. Lakers. For the Nuggets, Wednesday @ Dallas, Friday @ Memphis, Sunday @ Oklahoma City.