Nuggets-Rockets Instant Reactions: They Want the Cup

The Denver Nuggets traveled to Houston to take on the Rockets on Friday night. The two best offenses in the league clashed, and Denver emerged victorious despite losing Aaron Gordon to a hamstring injury in the first quarter.

The Nuggets extended their lead over the Rockets to 1.5 games in the West, and moved to 2-1 in West Group C — good for first place.

Final score: 112-109

Aaron Gordon Hurt

Aaron Gordon left the first quarter early after aggravating his hamstring on a drive. He was listed as questionable to return, but never did. David Adelman and the Nuggets turned to the double-big lineup right away as Jonas Valanciunas took the court.

Nuggets Fight Hard On Glass

Houston deployed a massive starting lineup, starting Amen Thompson, Kevin Durant, Jabari Smith Jr, Alperen Sengun, and Steven Adams. The Rockets rebound 40% of their misses, leading the league in the category, so effort and discipline on the glass became paramount.

Denver passed the early tests, out-rebounding Houston 25-13 in the first quarter. Nikola Jokić secured 7 rebounds by himself, and role players like Peyton Watson, Cam Johnson, and Spencer Jones fought hard to keep Houston off the glass. The Nuggets kept it up in the second quarter, in the rebounding department at least, and carried a 37-22 advantage into halftime.

The Rockets flipped the script in the second half, absolutely crushing Denver on the offensive glass and erasing the advantage as the game went into clutch time.

Rockets Trap Murray, Murray Gets Clutch

The Rockets hounded Jamal Murray, trapping him whenever Denver set a screen. Murray struggled with the pressure, overdribbling and turning it over three times in the first half. He made a few slick passes to Jonas Valanciunas, but Houston succeeded in taking Murray and the Nuggets out of their conventional offense.

Murray looked more patient in the second-half bench stint. The Rockets continued to trap, but he took his time and got the ball out of his hands quickly enough. He only turned it over once at the start of the fourth, and played his best basketball of the night in the clutch.

Murray deserves a lot of credit for his adjustments. After Jokić put the offense on his back for three quarters, 27 carried them home in winning time. He scored 14 points in the fourth. The Nuggets secured their first clutch win of the season.

Spencer Jones Starts Second Half, Checks Reed Sheppard

Reed Sheppard led all scorers in the first half with 20 points, thanks to four made threes. The Nuggets left him wide open and let a lethal shooter find his rhythm. With Gordon out due to injury, Spencer Jones started the second half and did his best to take Sheppard out of the game. Sheppard scored just 7 points in the second half.