Phoenix-Nikola Jokic is sweaty and wearing a black brace on his wrist, unable to help his team.

With a sprained right wrist for the second consecutive game, Jokic looked helplessly at the Suns, the same team that swept the Nuggets from the playoffs last season, and their defense fell apart. The final game on Sunday night gave the Suns a 12th consecutive victory with a score of 126-97 and a fourth consecutive defeat for Denver.

Since the 2018-19 season, the Nuggets have not lost four consecutive games. Now 9-8, the Nuggets will face Portland on Tuesday to try to end their losing streak.

"When you lose 48 points in the first quarter, lose 20 points, or even lose 30 points at one point, you will spend a lot of energy trying to get back into the game," said Nuggets coach Michael Malone. "It's great to see our players continue to fight, compete, and not just stand up, but you can't let a team come out to play their performance in the first quarter."

Although they worked hard for most of the game, the staff did not. Except for Jokic, the Nuggets do not have Michael Porter Jr. (guard), Zeke Nagy (ankle) and Jamal Murray, who jokingly lobbied for the previous cross at Sunday’s pre-match press conference. He recovered from a torn ligament.

The injury report became longer because rookie Bone Hyland left Sunday's game with a sprained right ankle after just two minutes of action.

At the same time, Phoenix has a complete arsenal.

Chris Paul scored 9 points and 10 assists, and center Deandre Ayton scored 21 points on 9 of 11 shots. Without Jokic to protect the paint zone, the Suns approached the basket and scored 56 points inside.

Denver's best offensive threat Aaron Gordon was expelled from the field after defending an offensive foul with 15 seconds left in the third quarter. Gordon's night ended with 16 points and a team-high 10 rebounds.

Jeff Green scored 19 points and Jamie Chalgrin scored 14 points and 8 rebounds.

"Entering the next game, we had a pleasant conversation in the locker room," Jamie Chargreen said. "We hold our heads tall.

"...Fight," Green continued. "Go out and play with confidence and know that we will win. We are a great team, we are a strong team."

With 6 minutes and 15 seconds left in the third quarter, the Nuggets finally narrowed the score gap to single digits. JaMychal Green's three-pointer capped 12-4, temporarily quieting the Phoenix audience. When Suns coach Monty Williams announced a timeout to stop the momentum, Jokic jumped from the bench to meet Green, who has been struggling for his outside shots.

The Suns ended the section with a score of 17-4, full of Devin Booker daggers and air relay lobs. Denver entered the fourth quarter 100-78, and the game was actually out of reach.

Perhaps outside of Portland, the Nuggets may be as familiar with the Suns as any team in the NBA.

In other words, Malone knew what they were going to do.

"You have Chris Paul for the pick-and-roll, he is just a master," Malone said. "You have Devin Booker catching and shooting in isolation. You have their three-pointers. Then there is a guy I like to watch-Mikal Bridges. Guy never stops moving. He's not a good one. The cutter, he’s a great cutter. Then you put all of this above the fact that they have the third-ranked defense in the NBA. That’s why they have won 11 games in a row."

Phoenix arrived on schedule, especially in the first quarter, when the Suns scored 48 points in the opening 12 minutes of the game. This is an amazing display of efficiency, talent and depth. The Suns reached 77% of their attempts in the first quarter and took a 20-point lead.

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