The Denver Nuggets got out to a fast against the Houston Rockets as they scored nine points on their first three possessions. The Rockets started to charge back, and, after being down by as many as 10, they were within five. The Rockets had gotten with three before the Nuggets went on a run, and they stretched their lead back to 10 with just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter. Aaron Gordon was going to work early as he had 11 points in nine minutes after struggling with fouls on Monday night. Following a Houston timeout, the two sides traded baskets, and the Nuggets proceeded to go on a huge run, and they had gotten their lead up to 21 with under a minute remaining thanks to a flurry of points from Vlatko Cancar. Houston went 1-of-2 at the line in the final minute of the quarter, but they were still trailing 44-24 heading into the second period.

Both teams started the second quarter a little slow, but Denver started to turn things on a bit. They had grown their lead to 25 before Jamal Murray drilled a triple from the corner to get their lead up to 28 with 7:20 to go in the half. With their starters back in the game, their run continued en route to a 33-point lead. The Nuggets have been a slower-paced team in recent games, but they were working to get out and on the run as the second quarter was wearing on. Nikola Jokic saved a ball that was on its way out of bounds before passing it back to Bruce Brown for a dunk that made the crowd erupt. Houston quieted the crowd with some late scoring, but Denver still found themselves up 74-47 at the half.

Coming out of the halftime break, the Nuggets had left their first-half fire in the locker room as they allowed Houston to storm back into the game. After trailing by as many as 31, they were now down by only 21 five minutes into the quarter. Denver briefly re-extended their lead before the Rockets continued to fire up shots to get within 19 thanks to a 10-5 run over a couple of minutes. As the quarter was winding down, neither team could really go on much of a run. They were often trading baskets back and forth, and they appeared content to do nothing more than that. Denver got a couple of late baskets to give themselves a 96-72 lead heading into the final period, but the offense needed a little more juice in the final quarter to carry them through.

After allowing a quick basket to start the period, Denver scored buckets in quick succession to stifle that Houston momentum and force a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Rockets were continuing to fight back, and that was forcing Michael Malone to gradually bring his starters back in the game. With around six minutes remaining in the game, the full starting lineup had re-entered the game as Denver was looking to ice the game. Their lead had shrunk to 18 with under 4:30 to go prior to a quick five-point burst from the Nuggets to make their lead 23 with 3:06 remaining. Following a Houston timeout, the Rockets appeared to be waving the white flag as they emptied their bench to run out the clock. Denver would salt the game away and wrap up their fourth straight win by a score of 120-100.

Stat Leaders

Points: Jamal Murray – 26

Assists: Nikola Jokic – 12

Rebounds: Jokic – 9

Player of the Game: Jamal Murray – 26 points, 2 assists, 4 rebounds, 9-of-15 field goal, 4-of-163-point, 4-of-5 free throw