NBA (3/24) | Denver Nuggets vs. Phoenix Suns: Mile High in the Desert
Written by: Varun Sharma
Published: Tue Mar 24, 2026, 3:45 pm ET
Read Time: 6 minutes
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Big time matchup in the Western Conference tonight between the Phoenix Suns and Denver Nuggets. Superstars on both sides and both teams in need of wins.
Super excited for this matchup, let's jump straight into it.
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Game Information
Matchup Information
- Location: Mortgage Matchup Center; Phoenix, Arizona
- Date: Tuesday, March 24th, 2026
- Tipoff: 11:10 PM EST
Key Players
- Nikola Jokić (DEN): 34.8 MPG | 28.0 PPG | 12.6 RPG | 10.6 APG
- Devin Booker (PHX): 27.7 MPG | 25.5 PPG | 3.9 RPG | 5.9 APG
Betting Odds
Odds via Lucky Rebel, an industry leader in the sports betting world.
Analysis & Breakdown
Desert Dawgs
Head Coach Jordan Ott is a magician and the way he's got his team playing this year can't be overlooked. Despite a multitude of missed games from his best players, Coach Ott has the Suns sitting in 7th place with potential to move up before the season finishes.
Devin Booker's missed 16 games this year, Jalen Green's played in just 24 games and is still averaging just 26 minutes per game. Dillon Brooks has now missed 22 games this year and Grayson Allen's missed a total of 28 games. The team's starting center, Mark Williams, suffered a foot fracture and remains without a timetable to return.
It's been ugly in Phoenix but they still find a way to win games. The team's eight games above .500 with just 10 games left on the schedule and they've only played two games with their 'big three' fully healthy. Green was also just returning from injury and still on a big time minutes restriction.
With the trio of Brooks, Booker and Green on the floor; this team's offensive rating jumps as high as 125.6 and their defensive rating improves by 9.7 points (106.3). It's a very small sample size but we have yet to see the full potential of this Suns squad.
Mayhem in Mile High
The Nuggets have not won three straight games since January 14th of this year. Tonight, once again they have a chance to do just that; string three wins together. This very same Nuggets team once held onto the No.3 seed in the Western Conference but after a string of injuries it's been nearly impossible to maintain.
Jokić has missed 16 of of the Nuggets' games this year, Christian Braun's played in just 50% of their games and Aaron Gordon even fewer than Braun. Cam Johnson's also struggled to stay on the floor in his first year as a Nugget, playing in just 46 of the team's 72 games and now Peyton Watson's battling injuries in his breakout year.
It's been a tough pill to swallow if you're a Nuggets' fan but the team's still won 44 games, they sit 4th in the Western Conference and could realistically still make a push for the No.3 seed. With all that being said, the Nuggets are 14-6 this year with the trio of Gordon, Jokić and Murray all in the lineup.
The team's offensive rating jumps to 133.9 with all three guys on the court and the team averages 121.5 points per game in the 20 games all three guys have been healthy.
Tuesday Night's Best Bets
Aaron Gordon o24.5 PRA (-110) | Lucky Rebel
Like I said above, the offense just works so much better when Gordon, Jokić and Murray all play. Tonight the Nuggets come into Phoenix with a chance to string three wins together and Gordon's in familiar territory. Gordon's a kid that grew up on the west coast, born in San Jose and went to school here in the desert.
Gordon was selected with the No.4 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft out of Arizona. He lead the Wildcats to a birth in the Elite-8 before declaring for the NBA Draft and even though it's been a really long time; you've gotta think there's a certain familiarity to the desert.
Due to injuries, Gordon's played in just 30 games this year and he's played 25+ minutes in just 20 of those games. In these 20 games, Gordon's averaging: 19.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. He's shooting 52% from the field and 44% from the perimeter.
Gordon's cleared this line in 13 of those 20 games (65%) and he's been even better on the road. Eleven of these 20 games came on the road, he's over in 7 of the the 11 games and his shooting percentages jump to 53% and 49%.
Gordon's averaging 5.4 free throw attempts per game in these games and the Suns rank 22nd in opponent free throw rate. He's also averaging 1.7 offensive rebounds per game and the Suns have been atrocious on the glass.
The team ranks 15th in rebounds allowed but 28th in opponent offensive rebound rate and 20th in opponent second chance points.
Jalen Green o7.5 A/R (+110) | Lucky Rebel
I'm taking a shot here with Jalen Green, but not in the way you might traditionally think. Green's finally back to playing well over 30 minutes per game and tonight's matchup should stay fairly close. In his last two seasons with the Houston Rockets, Green averaged nearly 5 rebounds per game and just under 4 assists per game.
Green is not an elite level passer or a pass first type of guard, but the Nuggets have been bad defensively and this Suns's offense should provide a ton of assist opportunities. Green's played 30+ minutes just 11 times this year and in those 11 games he's averaging 4.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
He's cleared this line in 7 of the 11 games and with tonight's total at 232, I get the feeling we're going to see points tonight.
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