Nuggets-Rockets Grades: Lyles, Morris lone bright spots in beatdown

The Houston Rockets blasted the Denver Nuggets 130-104 on Friday at Toyota Center in Houston. The Nuggets shot just 3-28 from three-point range in the loss.

Here’s how each Nuggets’ player performed.

Torrey Craig (B) — Craig’s 45 days of service time are apparently still not up. He suited up for the Nuggets in Houston and chipped in with eight points and four rebounds. He played a team-high 28 minutes. It was not Craig’s best game defensively. Toward the end of the first half, James Harden roasted him with a crossover on one possession then drilled a step-back three in his grill the next time down the court. Harden’s a tough cover, but it was an ugly sequence.

Will Barton (C) — Barton had been excellent since moving into the starting lineup Jan. 22, but he stumbled Friday. He went 2-8 from the field, 0-3 from three and had one assist in 28 minutes. It was a rough game for the starting unit as a whole.

****Trey Lyles (A) — Lyles was one of the few bright spots for Denver. He came off the bench and scored 24 points, just two away from his career high. He made 8-15 shots and knocked down all seven of his free-throw attempts — a step in the right direction for a guy who came into the game shooting 67.3 percent from the charity stripe.

Jamal Murray (C) — The Blue Arrow scored in single digits for the first time since Jan. 16. He went 2-8 from the field, missed all three of the three-point shots he took and finished with six points. A rough outing for him.

Gary Harris (C) — Harris was ice-cold shooting the basketball, which isn’t something you see often. He went 0-7 from deep, failing to hit a three for the first time since Dec. 22. As a team, the Nuggets made a season-low three three-pointers. Bad shooting nights happen — even to marksmen like Harris.

Wilson Chandler (B) — Denver’s trio of starting guards — Murray, Harris and Barton — all had off nights. Denver’s starting power forward — Chandler — was pretty productive in comparison. He scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds. Still, he was part of a starting unit that got drilled.

Monte Morris (A) — The rookie two-way player was impressive in 22 minutes of playing time, most of which occurred when the game was decided. Morris scored 10 points, handed out six assists and nabbed three steals. He’s spent most of the season in the G League but got called up while Denver waits for Devin Harris to arrive. It’s not hard to see Morris one day becoming a productive backup point guard somewhere in the NBA.

Nikola Jokic (B) — The good: He scored 14 points on eight shots to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. The bad: The Rockets exploited him in pick and rolls all game long. Jokic was too often caught in no man’s land, which allowed Rockets center Clint Capela to feast inside. He’s going to have to be better defensively the next time Denver faces Houston.

Juancho Hernangomez (B) — Hernangomez logged double-digit minutes for the first time since Dec. 13. He got in because it was a blowout. He was decent in 17 minutes, scoring six points and grabbing six rebounds.

Malik Beasley (B) — Like Hernangomez, Beasley also played 17 minutes of garbage time. He had a couple nice drives to the hoop. He also bricked a three badly. He’s shooting below 30 percent from deep this season.

*** denotes Player of the Game

The Nuggets won’t have to wait long to try and wash the taste out of their mouths. They face the Suns in Phoenix on Saturday.