The Denver Nuggets (27 - 38) defeated the Phoenix Suns (17 - 48) 116 - 98 on Thursday. The Nuggets were a rare nine - point favorite in this matchup and didn’t disappoint home fans. They dominated every quarter except the third, as they outscored the Suns by at least seven points in the first, second and fourth quarters. The three - point shooting was key for Denver, as they went 13 - for - 29, with the Suns going just 6 - for - 28. The ball movement was huge as well, with the Nuggets handing out 27 assists to the Suns 19. The two big name rookie in this game didn’t disappoint, as Emmanuel Mudiay and Devin Booker both scored career - highs. It's been a rough stretch for the Suns, but there were some bright spots in this loss. The most notable being that of Devin Booker, as he scored a career - high 35 points in a spectacular performance. No other starter scored in double figures, with the other four players combing for 21 points. Brandon Knight made his return in well over a month, as he scored 10 points off the bench. Jon Leuer was the only other player in double figures, as he scored 19 points while grabbing seven boards of his own. It doesn’t get much easier for Phoenix, as they travel to play the Golden State Warriors on Saturday in their next game. The Nuggets played one of their best games of the season here to win their fourth game in their last five. Rookie Emmanuel Mudiay was fantastic, as he scored a career - high 30 points, while also handing out five assists. The other rookie starter played well too, as Nikola Jokic accumulated 18 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks in the win. The bench also played well, as they combined for 52 points, 26 rebounds and 14 assists between six players. Denver will look to keep up the recent good form against the Washington Wizards on Saturday.
["TeamStat(G,'Nuggets') has 27 Number of team assists ,has 38 Losses ,has 116 Total points ,has 27 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Suns') has 19 Number of team assists ,has 48 Losses ,has 98 Total points ,has 17 Wins ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Devin Booker') has 35 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Brandon Knight') has 10 Assists ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Jon Leuer') has 19 Assists ,has 7 Blocks ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Nikola Jokic') has 4 Assists ,has 3 Blocks ,has 18 Defensive rebounds ,has 10 Points ,has 2 Total rebounds ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Emmanuel Mudiay') has 5 Assists ,has 2 Blocks ,has 30 Defensive rebounds ,has 2 Points ."]