PHOENIX – The biggest stretch of the regular season brought the Phoenix Suns back the energy they need to play with with a 110-100 Christmas Eve victory over the Denver Nuggets.

After a massive decline in defensive intensity in recent weeks that resulted in Phoenix going 5-12 after going 9-2 to start the season, the Suns at least showed they can recapture what was good for them at the start The year had worked out so well.

Through those first 11 games, Phoenix ranked 13th in defensive efficiency (112.9), according to Cleaning the Glass’ database, which eliminates time wasting. Over the next 17 contests, the Suns finished 28th (120.1). Yes, injuries played a role. But the eye test confirmed the prevailing wisdom that notable absences shouldn’t take the brunt of the blame.

Suns guard Bradley Beal said head coach Mike Budenholzer challenged each one individually after Monday’s loss to Denver, in which recent issues reached an all-time high.

“We couldn’t do what we did the other night,” Beal said of the reaction.

There was a lot of energy and commitment on defense at the start of Wednesday’s game, with even more focus on whether it would last the rest of the evening. While Denver scored 34 points in the first quarter, it was held to 22 in each of the remaining three periods.

The Nuggets responded to the intensity with some physicality in various areas, but were unable to get control of the ball as a result. The Suns recorded seven fewer turnovers (16-9) and doubled Denver’s points on turnovers (20-10).

With Phoenix ahead by seven minutes and just over eight minutes left to play, backup point guard Monte Morris fought with Denver’s Jamal Murray for a loose ball and he threw it out of bounds. He got flustered in front of his own bench, and after a layup from Beal, Beal got into a passing lane at the same spot on the court to force a Denver turnover. Morris then missed a 3-pointer, only for Jusuf Nurkic to grab an offensive rebound for a Royce O’Neale 3-pointer.

Courage was on full display in this 5-0 spurt, a classic example of how the basketball gods reward you when you outscore your opponent. O’Neale’s three-pointers broke a 2-for-16 shooting loss for the Suns and opened a second half that didn’t bury them because of the energy, including a third quarter in which the Suns won 27-22 and briefly ended the grand finale . Time struggles lately in these dozen minutes.

“When you can’t make shots or you’re just in a little hole as a team, just that physicality and that energy is a good way to get out of that little hole that you’re in,” Suns forward Kevin Durant said.

This was a time when the Phoenix bench, with its close proximity, really became involved in the game, a noticeable boost.

“Honestly, man, if you look at all those games, that’s why we lost — we just weren’t having fun,” Beal said. “We didn’t have any fun, we just applied pressure and tried to make the perfect play. … I think just finding that joy elevates you in every category of the game.”

Morris and Josh Okogie provided waves of that intensity off the bench, as did rookie Ryan Dunn in the starting lineup. While an ideal Suns rotation doesn’t include both Dunn and Okogie due to their lack of shooting ability, for now these guys need to continue playing with the hustle that they bring.

“He’s the power guy,” Beal said of Okogie.

The win was Phoenix’s first at Christmas since 2009 and kept the team only three games out of the league this decade.

Durant became the 11th player in NBA history to play at least a dozen times on Christmas, with LeBron James’ 19th holiday contest on Wednesday setting the latest record. Although Durant tended to rise to the occasion, he started the day on a bit of a winning streak. In his last four Christmas outings dating back to 2017, Durant had failed to reach the 30-point threshold. He averaged 22.8 points per game and shot 44.1% from the field during that stretch, which is a very good number for most players and a very bad number for Kevin Durant.

That strangely continued Wednesday, with 9 of 26 shooting for 27 points, but Durant failed to add six assists, two steals and two blocks. He and Beal led by example in high-performance engines. Beal had arguably his best game of the season with 27 points (11 of 21), two rebounds, four assists, four steals, one block and three turnovers. Both guys reached their season highs for field goal attempts in the first half, the aggressiveness Phoenix needs without Devin Booker (left groin strain).

This is the type of stage Beal said he would get a chance to be at again when he visits Phoenix. He had only played twice at Christmas and not since 2017.

Tyus Jones’ scoring punch continued on Wednesday, scoring an important 17 points that easily went unnoticed when you didn’t have a box score in front of you. He is considered the most consistent Sun this season.

Booker did not play in the Suns’ first game as the two-game span of his re-evaluation period had expired. He completed an on-pitch training session behind closed doors before the game, a clear sign that it wasn’t just standstill shots, but also a certain level of intensity. His indication on the injury report that he’s going from “sore” to a strain is typical of how Phoenix evaluates injuries after a few days. Budenholzer did not provide any updates on his status beyond training.

Grayson Allen is in the concussion protocol and also received shots before the game, a good sign for his eventual return.

Denver had a pretty boring game from Nikola Jokic by its standards – 25 points (10 of 19), 15 rebounds and two assists with two turnovers – and too little from the supporting cast. It shot 8 of 29 (27.6%) from 3.

Follow @KellanOlson