PHOENIX – Ish Smith looked up at Kevin Durant, not in awe of the size or talent discrepancy between the two, but eager to get on with the competition.
Down all five starters because of various ailments, the Denver Nuggets embodied Smith’s competitive ethos. In a game that didn’t mean much after the Nuggets sealed the No. 1 seed by virtue of another team’s loss, it meant a lot to those that played.
And it wasn’t until late in the fourth quarter, when Durant and Chris Paul buried consecutive 3-pointers to seize momentum, that it finally felt like Phoenix, at full strength, had asserted itself. The Suns went on to win, 119-115, dropping Denver to 52-28 on the season with only two games left in the regular season.
