The Denver Nuggets take on another game Saturday afternoon at Ball Arena, looking to win their seventh straight game and defeat the Houston Rockets for the third time this season.
The Nuggets find themselves particularly short-handed, still without Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Peyton Watson. Tim Hardaway Jr. takes over from Watson in the starting lineup.
advertise
The Nuggets played their best defense of the season in the opening game, but their offense never got off track, and the Rockets ended the Nuggets’ winning streak.
Final score: 115-101
Excellent defense in the first quarter
The Nuggets also lost three key defensive players while ranking third in the league on offense. However, they played their best defense of the season in the first quarter. The Nuggets forced six turnovers, an area where they typically struggle, and scored nine points directly off those turnovers. They allowed Durant to shoot 1 of 3 in the first 10 minutes, and the Rockets shot just 26 points in the quarter.
advertise
Offense in trouble
The Nuggets were unable to capitalize on a strong start to the first quarter. In a rare move, the offense stalled in the second quarter, with Denver going nowhere in the half. The Nuggets have the league’s highest offensive efficiency and are on track to set a record, but only scored 16 points in this quarter.
Credit goes to the Rockets, who managed to disrupt the Denver Nuggets’ floor and play physical defense. Still, it was shocking to see the offense so stagnant. After shooting 5 of 11 from three-point range in the opening quarter, they missed a single shot in the second quarter.
Houston also limited the Nuggets to 21 points in the third quarter, their worst consecutive offensive quarter so far this season.
advertise
Everyone is struggling on the court. Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Cam Johnson and Tim Hardaway Jr. all shot below 50% in the loss.
Jokic’s fight with Murray
The Nuggets have barely missed a game since key players were sidelined with injuries, and Murray is a big reason why. But against Houston, they didn’t look like they were without their two stars on the court. Murray made 4 of 13 shots and scored only 16 points.
Jokic leads the Nuggets in scoring, but his game was mediocre by his otherworldly standards. He never really called the game, and he was in foul trouble for much of the game.
Durant and Shepard light it up
While Denver’s offense failed to get going, the Rockets couldn’t miss. They made 19 of 35 three-pointers, with three different players making at least five 3-pointers. Kevin Durant, Reid Shepard and Jabari Smith Jr. shine the lights at Ball Arena. Even Josh Okogie shot 3-for-5.
Durant led all scorers with 31 points. Shepard scored 28 points and was almost scoreless except for Houston’s bench players.
