Final Score: Phoenix 107, Denver 105

Denver, CO (Sports Network) - Quentin Richardson's tip in at the buzzer handed Phoenix a 107-105 victory over Denver at the Pepsi Center.

Richardson's game-winner came on a second effort after his first attempt in the lane was blocked by Denver's Nene. Teammate Amare Stoudemire missed an attempt after that, but Richardson got his hand on the ball with plenty of time to spare.

"Sometimes you wind up spectating a little bit, and you don't put a body on somebody," Nuggets head coach Jeff Bzdelik said.

Stoudemire poured in a game-high 32 points to lead the Suns, winners of nine straight games for the second time this season. Phoenix improved its NBA-best record to 22-3.

Richardson added 19 points in the victory, Steve Nash had 15 with 10 assists and Shawn Marion scored 12. The Suns shot 53 percent to Denver's 51 percent.

Andre Miller scored 23 points with 11 assists to pace the Nuggets, who have dropped three straight. Carmelo Anthony was out again with a sprained left ankle and Marcus Camby missed with bronchitis.

"I'm extremely proud of my players," Bzdelik said. "Shorthanded, they battled the hottest team in the league and came up just a little short."

The final 32 seconds of the game contained a flurry of action.

Denver, which trailed 81-77 heading into the fourth before gaining and then losing a 94-91 lead later on, tied the game at 103-103 on Kenyon Martin's bucket in the lane with 32.2 seconds remaining.

After Stoudemire put Phoenix back on top with a thunderous dunk at the other end, Martin came right back with a tough layup to tie it again with just 16 ticks left.

But Nash got good penetration through the lane and his dish under the basket for Richardson led to the game-winner.

"I already had a wide-open tip...and then I had a wide-open tip," Richardson said.

The Nuggets weren't just playing shorthanded against the league's best team, they were also coming off a season-high seven-game road trip (3-4). And they never trailed in the first half.

Denver led by as many as seven points in the first quarter on the way to a 32-28 edge heading into the second.

Denver reached its largest first-half lead of eight points twice in the second quarter, the last time coming when Greg Buckner's basket made it 52-44 inside the 4:00 mark.

But the Suns closed out the quarter with a 9-2 run to pull within 54-53 at the break. They shot 59 percent in the first half to Denver's 50 percent, and Stoudemire led all players with 14 points.

Game Notes

Nash picked up his 14th double-double of the season. Martin got his 13th with 22 points and 11 rebounds and Miller posted his first...Denver's Bryon Russell had a season-high 14 points off the bench...Denver won all four meetings with the Suns last season.

12/20 23:58:50 ET