Stoudemire, who scored 20 points in his first appearance of the season on Thursday, was not nearly as dominant against the Nuggets and managed just six points on two-of-seven shooting in 17 minutes of work.

The all-star underwent knee surgery last October and is just making his return to the Suns line-up in the team’s push for a high seeding in the playoffs .

However, as they have done most of the year, the Suns managed to get by without Stoudemire’s scoring and physical presence, six players contributing double-digit efforts to the home victory.

Raja Bell helped out with 15 points while Boris Diaw chipped in with 13 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds.

Carmelo Anthony led the Northwest Division-leading Nuggets with 28 points, while Andre Miller tallied 24 points in the loss.

Deadlocked 65-65 late in the third quarter, the Suns rallied to take a 79-75 lead into the fourth, opening up a commanding 14 point lead with just under six minutes to play.

In Los Angeles, Elton Brand drained 32 points and pulled down nine rebounds as the Clippers eased past the Washington Wizards 116-101 to reach 40 wins for just the third time in 27 seasons.

Sam Cassell added 26 points and eight assists and Chris Kaman contributed 21 points and 13 rebounds to the Clippers totals while Corey Maggette, filling in for an injured Cuttino Mobley, helped out with 19 points.