Hoop And Harm

The battle for playoff seedings in the West intensifies as the Phoenix Suns play host to the Denver Nuggets on TNT at 10:30 ET, April 4, 2010.

The NBA lines list the Suns as 5-point favorites and the total is 216.

The race in the West is tight with the Nuggets holding a half-game lead over the Suns and the Jazz. The Nuggets season will be done tonight and a victory will guarantee them the number three spot while the Jazz and Suns play each other tomorrow night guaranteeing that at least one of them will win.

The Nuggets haven’t won in Phoenix in 10-straight games.

The last meeting between these teams was a 101-85 Phoenix victory at home.

The Suns confounded the Nuggets with a switch to a zone defense that sparked a 33-11 second quarter that gave the Suns a lead they would never relinquish.

Denver’s Chauncey Billups led all scorers with 21 points while Amare Stoudamire responded for the Suns with 19 points and 10 rebounds in limited minutes.

The Phoenix Suns needed a late 3-point barrage to grab a 116-106 victory over the Rockets on Sunday. While the clutch scoring to close out the game came from others, Stoudamire kept the Suns in the game scoring 35 points and pulling down 13 boards.

Phoenix is 6-4-0 ATS in the last ten and it boasts an impressive 24-15-1 ATS home record

The Denver Nuggets picked up a much needed 123-101 win last night over the hibernating Grizzlies. The Nuggets grabbed the early lead and then rested their starters letting the bench play for most of the game.

Defensive specialist Kenyon Martin is back from injury and played his second straight game last night.

The Nuggets are 4-5-1 ATS in the last ten and have a 15-20-5 ATS road record..