A solid outing by Smiley led Denver to a 91-84 win over Phoenix. "Take away Smiley, and we'd have won this thing," said Phoenix coach Bob. "It was a very close game most of the way, and he was the one that put Denver over the top. I thought we had the right game plan and executed well. What's sad is that I don't know what we'd do differently next time, except for hoping for a more mortal performance by him."

Denver coach Bob was happy for the win, but concerned about the team's play. "I didn't think this was a very good team win. Our players seemed tempted to sit around and watch Smiley do his stuff. That was enough for the win today, but on another day maybe Smiley will be injured or our opponents can counter him, and we'll need the rest of the players to step up as well."

Denver was led by Smiley (15 points, 20 boards, 4 assists, a steal, 2 blocks), Wise (7 points, 6 boards, 9 assists, 4 steals), Beachum (21 points, 2 assists). Phoenix was led by Berry (11 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks), Dupree (20 points, 5 boards, 2 assists), King (16 points, 8 boards, 0 assists, a block).

After this win, Denver are now 21-19 and 14-6 at home. They remain at #5 in the Northwest and hold at #11 overall in the Western Conference. Phoenix are now 19-23 with this defeat. They hold at #4 in the Pacific and remain at #14 overall in the Western Conference.

box score Denver roster Phoenix roster