DENVER, Nov. 13 (Ticker) -- The Denver Nuggets went more than 11 minutes without a basket in the second half, undoing a strong defensive effort in a 75-72 loss to the Phoenix Suns, who survived a drought of their own for their third straight victory.

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"Every time you lose it really hurts," Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "The guys really left it out on the floor tonight. If we could shoot, we would be dangerous."

Bzdelik's team of primarily unproven youngsters has been better than some thought it would be, winning twice in its first six games by hustling and making a commitment to defense.

The rookie coach has done it despite missing forward Juwan Howard for the first two games, experimenting with different starters at several positions. In this one, he gave rookie Lorinza "Junior" Harrington his first start at point guard in place of the injured Chris Whitney.

Matched up against Stephon Marbury, Harrington did not fare well, collecting four points, five assists and four turnovers in 37 minutes before fouling out. The offense came to a standstill in the third period, when the Nuggets went the final 10:41 without a basket.

"I'm a rookie, so I expect everyone to come out hard," Harrington said. "It's up to me to go out and not back down, no matter who it is."

"We really missed Chris Whitney tonight, but you deal with the hand that you are dealt," Bzdelik said. "We are asking a lot of an undrafted rookie, especially when it comes to guarding Stephon Marbury."

The drought turned a nine-point lead into a 62-53 deficit heading into the fourth quarter. The Nuggets got within one point in the final minute but could not catch the Suns, who won despite going without a basket for the final seven-plus minutes.

Marbury had 19 points and eight assists and Shawn Marion collected 14 and nine rebounds for the Suns. Phoenix shot 39 percent (28-of-71) from the field.

"We came out aggressive in the third quarter," Marion said. "Limited them to one rebound, one shot and that was it."

"We'll always deny them shooting the ball and will get after it defensively," Marbury said. "That makes a world of difference."

Howard scored 19 points and rookie Nene Hilario added a season-high 14 and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who are averaging a league-low 79 points per game. Denver shot just 33 percent (26-of-78) and has been below 40 percent in all but one game this season.

"We got good shots; we were unable to put it in the hole," Harrington said. "If we just go back to the drawing board and keep working hard, those shots will eventually fall."

Poor shooting did not affect the Nuggets in the first half, when they pounded the Suns on the boards and opened a 42-33 lead.

"At halftime, I told them we have more talent but they outworked us in the first half," Suns coach Frank Johnson said. "I told them if we play with energy, we could win the game."

A jumper by Mark Blount, who scored 10 points, gave the Nuggets their largest lead at 46-35 with 10:41 left in the third quarter. But Denver made just 2-of-14 shots in the period as its lead frittered away.

Meanwhile, Phoenix sank 12-of-19 shots. Marbury scored 10 points in the period, one less than Denver.

Hilario's basket with 11:37 left ended Denver's drought, but a free throw and dunk by Scott Williams gave Phoenix its largest lead at 65-55 with 10:38 to go. Six straight points from Howard cut the deficit to 66-63 before rookie Amare Stoudemire put home a follow shot for Phoenix's last basket with 7:10 remaining.

Both teams went scoreless for four minutes before Marion made two free throws. Howard had a three-point play to bring the Nuggets within 71-70 with 1:03 to play, but missed a jumper on the next trip.

Marion was fouled with 16 seconds left and hit both free throws. Howard dunked 10 seconds later after the 6-10 Hilario passed up an open three-pointer. Marbury made two from the line with 5.9 seconds left, and Rodney White's running three-pointer at the horn was way off.

"I got the ball and I wanted to take it, but I knew it was not the play that we had designed, so I passed the ball off," Hilario said.

Penny Hardaway had 13 points, seven assists and six rebounds and Stoudemire added 12, eight boards and six blocks for the Suns, who were beaten on the boards, 47-31.

"We are going to be really good someday," Bzdelik said. "For those of you who do not think so, you do not see what I see. There is no substitute for experience. I just told the players that if they keep working hard, they are going to be good."