PHOENIX -- Wilson Chandler's hip injuries that cost him 133 games since 2011 are finally behind him. Now he's healthy and carrying the load while several other Denver Nuggets deal with maladies of their own.

Chandler scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half and Jameer Nelson added 21 to help the short-handed Nuggets to a 120-114 win over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

"It's too early to start talking about Sixth Man of the Year and stuff like that but he's been our MVP so far," Denver coach Michael Malone said. "His scoring, his rebounding. I had him out there 39 minutes ... whatever needs to be done, he's out there saying, 'I've got you, Coach.'"

Emmanuel Mudiay had 19 points and Kenneth Faried added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Nuggets (7-10), who have two of their seven wins against the Suns.

Chandler had 28 points and 11 rebounds in Denver's 120-104 win over Phoenix on Nov. 16 and was the difference again. Healthy and happy, he's enjoying the ride.

"I had a whole year and a whole summer off so I'm fresh and happy to be out there," Chandler said. "This is the first time since I've been in Denver that I'm 100 percent healthy. It feels so good."

The backcourt of Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker combined for 65 points -- a career-high 35 from Bledsoe and 30 from Booker -- for Phoenix (5-13). P.J. Tucker added 21 points and Tyson Chandler had 10 points and 15 rebounds, but the Suns played from behind the entire game and long scoring droughts did them in.

"We can't be responding to teams. We can't be fighting back, we need to be the aggressors," said Booker, who had his fourth 30-point game of the season. "That's something we're going to work on from this point and carry into the next game."

Down by 20 at the half, the Suns got within three early in the fourth quarter and scored seven straight to cut an 11-point deficit to four at 114-110 with 48 seconds left. But that was as close as they got.

"We went with a veteran front line that was plus-14 in the second half, but our young guys just didn't have it," Phoenix coach Earl Watson said. "It's maturity, it's aggressiveness and it's physicality."

Missing five players including Will Barton, Danilo Gallinari and Gary Harris, Denver played all 10 of its available players in the first period and got off to a great start.

The Nuggets scored the first 11 points of the game -- seven by Mudiay and four by Jusuf Nurkic -- and appeared ready to blow out the Suns right at the jump. Mudiay had 12 points in the quarter.

But once Bledsoe got the Suns going with a 3-pointer with 8:23 left, they outscored the Nuggets 25-13 over the next seven minutes and took their first lead at 25-24 on a Bledsoe nine-foot jumper with 1:53 left.

Ending quarter with a 29-28 lead, Denver did it to the Suns again to open the second. The Nuggets scored the first 13 points, holding the Suns scoreless for the first 4:05 and capped the run with a Malik Beasley 3-pointer to make it 43-28.

The Suns missed 16 of 20 shots in the quarter and had twice as many fouls (eight) as baskets. Chandler had all nine of his first-half points and a five-footer by Nikola Jokic with 57 seconds left gave Denver its biggest lead at 63-43 at the half.

But the Suns finally started a quarter well and got back into the game with a 36-point third quarter. Phoenix hit six 3-pointers in the quarter including four in a row -- the last one by Tucker -- to crawl back within four at 80-76 with 2:01 left.

The Suns got as close as 86-83 on two Brandon Knight free throws with 10:49 left. But the Nuggets scored the next eight points -- 3-pointers from Chandler and Jamal Murray and two free throws by Mudiay -- to put Denver back up by 11 and out of danger until the final minute.

NOTES: Suns F Jared Dudley missed the game with a foot injury and T.J. Warren remains out with a minor head injury. ... Denver F Danilo Gallinari (right thigh) missed his third straight game and G Mike Miller (personal reasons) and G Will Barton (ankle) also didn't play. ... After allowing the first 12 opponents to reach 100 points to start the season, the Suns came in holding three straight teams below 100. ... The game matched two of the three top rebounding teams in the NBA. The Nuggets came in first (49.9 points) and the Suns were third (46.4). ... After playing 11 minutes in his return from bereavement leave, C Tyson Chandler will start playing more minutes, Suns coach Earl Watson said. "We've missed him. We need him," Watson said. ... Suns PG Eric Bledsoe came into the game with 176 career blocks, in a three-way tie for eighth-place all-time among NBA players 6-feet-1 or shorter. Others ahead of him are Suns Ring of Honor member Kevin Johnson and Hall of Famer John Stockton.