Chandler, Barton lead Nuggets to come-from-behind win in Phoenix

The Denver Nuggets’ offense has picked up in the last three weeks. Ever since a Jan. 21 loss to the Phoenix Suns, Denver has rediscovered the offensive identity that made it so hard to stop last season. But in that stretch of games, the Nuggets’ defense has also struggled to hold up.

Both of those trends were on display in Denver’s 123-113 win over the Phoenix Suns on Saturday. The Nuggets shot 51.1 percent from the floor but allowed the Suns to shoot 54.8 percent. Denver let Phoenix hang around before it put the game away with a run in the fourth quarter.

The Suns, who were without shooting guard Devin Booker and center Tyson Chandler, led the Nuggets by seven points at one point in the third quarter. Phoenix shot 54.3 percent from the field in the first half. Swingman T.J. Warren scored 18 points in the first two quarters.

Denver finally woke up toward the end of the third quarter. Will Barton was instrumental in leading the comeback. He scored 16 points in the third quarter alone and finished with 25 points, five rebounds and five assists. His three with 3:30 remaining in the game pushed Denver’s lead to nine.

The Nuggets also got a great outing from Wilson Chandler. He started at power forward and wound up with a season-high 26 points. He buried two corner threes and a shot at the rim late to all but ice the game.

Devin Harris chipped in with nine points in his Nuggets debut.

Denver (30-26) snapped a seven-game road losing streak. It avoided losing on the second night of a back to back after falling in Houston on Friday.