Nuggets  85    Suns  101

Denver Nuggets (39-20) at Phoenix Suns (37-24), 9 p.m.

Sports Network | March 1, 2010

(Sports Network) - A pair of Western Conference powers meet in the desert Monday night as the Northwest Division-leading Denver Nuggets face off with the Phoenix Suns.

The Nuggets, who lead the Northwest by one game over Utah, are coming off a tough loss yesterday to the West's top team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Lamar Odom finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds and four steals off the bench, as the reigning NBA champion Lakers held on for a 95-89 win over Denver at Staples Center.

Carmelo Anthony led all scorers with 21 points, but committed eight turnovers and fouled out for Denver, which had won three straight coming in, including a 107-102 decision over Detroit on Friday. Chauncey Billups chipped in 17 points and Nene added 14 points and 11 boards in defeat.

"Our turnovers hurt us." Denver head coach George Karl said. "They slowed down our offense in the second half. There's part of me that says we let one get away."

The Suns, who are in the fifth spot in the West, are also coming off a loss yesterday, a 113-110 setback to the Spurs in San Antonio. Tim Duncan scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in that one.

Amare Stoudemire finished with a season-high 41 points to go along with 12 rebounds for the Suns, who had their five-game winning streak snapped. Jason Richardson ended with 20 points, but missed a game-tying dunk in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Steve Nash donated 18 points and 11 assists in defeat.

"I went up and just missed the dunk," recalled Richardson. "I don't like to miss dunks especially during crunch time, but sometimes it just happens."

The loss cooled off a Suns team that had taken 11 of their last 13 contests. Phoenix has not suffered setbacks in consecutive games since tripping at Utah and losing to Charlotte at home over a month ago, Jan. 25 and 26.

The Nuggets have been even better in avoiding a losing streak. Denver hasn't lost back-to-back games since a season-high three-game skid more than two months ago, Dec. 25-28.

These two teams have split a pair of meetings in Denver so far this season.