The all-star break began in Denver at about 7:05 Wednesday night, a few hours earlier than the Nuggets intended as they watched Phoenix run by them 116-101 at the Pepsi Center.
Ask coach George Karl, and it may have begun even earlier.
“There’s a possibility that we started the all-star break (Tuesday) instead of after the game tonight,” he said.
The Nuggets (28-26) yawned their way into their four days without practice by losing their 11th home game. They lost 10 last season. By allowing the Suns an opponent’s season-high 53 rebounds and pulling down 37 themselves, they also got outworked on the boards for the 11th straight game. But an even more one-sided stat surfaced outside the paint.
It took the Suns three overtimes and 35 shot attempts to reach 14 3-pointers the last time they faced Denver, which gave them a season high for a Nuggets opponent. This time Phoenix reached 14 again, but in 25 regulation tries. Meanwhile, Denver never connected from 3-point range in 14 attempts.
“I was all by myself,” said Suns guard Leandro Barbosa, who connected three times. “I don’t understand why they did that. They tried to worry about inside, but the game was all about outside and we have too many shooters who will hit open shots.”
Shawn Marion had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Phoenix (34-17), Raja Bell hit 4-of-6 3-pointers for 20 points and Steve Nash added 19 points and 12 assists. All five Suns starters reached double figures in scoring by the middle of the third quarter. Carmelo Anthony provided Denver’s only steady offense, finishing with 29 points.
Karl did not mince words analyzing the game.
“Tonight Phoenix was hungrier, tougher, wanted it more, and it bordered on being embarrassing,” he said. “Average teams have excuses and crutches. Too many times the first 50 games of the season I think we’ve had too many excuses and crutches instead of just forgetting when we walk in the locker room, we walk in the gym, we play basketball. We’re a team. Quit complaining. Complaining about minutes, injuries, schedule, practice.”
The Nuggets did not exactly soar into the break, losing seven of 10. But with their four Northwest Division rivals also posting losing records in their last 10 games, they remain at the top, two games ahead of Utah.
Injured Nuggets such as Kenyon Martin will welcome the rest. The forward called it a night after two-thirds of a quarter Wednesday and said his left knee is causing him “constant pain.”
If Denver players feel down about their record, they can also remind themselves that they were 24-29 at last season’s break.
Karl said the last 28 games would provide plenty of chances for redemption, but only if the players “forget about individual agendas.”
As for the team he leaves as he heads for a weekend of R&R in Boise, Idaho, he said, “We don’t want to make a total and full commitment to be a serious team.”
The Nuggets have two months to become one.
Staff writer Adam Thompson can be reached at 303-820-5447 or athompson@denverpost.com.
