Recap: Rockets Blast Past Jokic-less Nuggets

On By Littum

The first change to tonight’s game happened before the game when Nikola Jokic injured his elbow during warmups. Aaron Gordon was also ruled out. This led to Russell Westbrook continuing to start and DeAndre Jordan getting a start in Jokic’s place. It was obviously going to be a more difficult match from the start than it otherwise would have been.

First quarter

The Nuggets started the game by being completely rushed on the offensive end. The Rockets scored 5 of their first 7 buckets and seemed to be in control the entire game. Alpine Sengun looked like the best playmaker on the floor, collecting 3 assists in the first three minutes of playing time. Amen Thompson also established himself as the most disruptive defender on the floor, he was on top of everything the Nuggets did.

But the defense started to stick with them after the first attack. Houston then made just 2 of their next 10 attempts from the field. The offense took some time to get going as well, with Russell Westbrook having 4 turnovers in the first quarter alone. DeAndre Jordan also picked up 3 early personal fouls but contributed 3 blocks in the quarter. However, Christian Braun was the real story for the Nuggets in the first quarter as he had 9 points and was a steady force on offense.

Jamal Murray started the game with 4 assists in the first period, and 5 points to go. The team wasn’t ideal in the period, but showed enough signs of life (especially without Nikola Jokic) to have some hope that they would make it a competitive game. The Nuggets were down 23-28 at the end of the first.

Second Quarter

Oh boy, this is where it all started to fall apart. The first quarter was close and it looked like the Nuggets might hang around a bit in this quarter. However, that view was quickly rejected. The offense? Bad, bad, erratic. It just wasn’t good. It’s not really a surprise either – this team isn’t one that’s going to score against elite defenses without Nikola Jokic orchestrating the offense. Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook looked better in the second quarter than the first, but the two with 13 and 12 points, respectively, were not enough to pull the offense to more than 48 points in the half.

The defense was worse though, and that was even with Alperen Sengun, who shot just 4 of 13 from the field in the first half. Only a little over 30% from the field and the Nuggets couldn’t capitalize. That was largely thanks to Jalen Green having 21 points in the first half on just 9 shots. Amen Thompson continued to give the Nuggets headaches on both ends of the floor, and overall the Nuggets were just outclassed as they found themselves down 69-48 at halftime.

Third Quarter

The third quarter was more of the same, more or less. Jamal Murray? Solid quarter! Had some good buckets, some good passes, some meh defense, but that’s to be expected. He’s been looking good lately and that continued tonight. The points came easily enough for him, but without anyone besides him or Russell Westbrook providing any real offense, it was difficult to break down the Houston defense. Michael Porter Jr. didn’t provide any shot creation and the only one who helped in that regard was Russ. Christian Braun also came in towards the end of the quarter and had 20 points to his name by the end of it.

The defense was still tough. Denver didn’t get a stop and Houston didn’t lack. It didn’t help that Alperen Sengun also got going in the quarter, at least compared to what he did in the first half. Denver found itself down 102-81 at the end of three quarters. Heading into the final frame, the outcome was mostly already written.

Fourth Quarter

There really isn’t much else to say that wasn’t already said in previous quarters. The Nuggets didn’t do well, the Rockets did solid. They kept up with each other in the second half. Houston didn’t find much more separation, but Denver couldn’t close the gap either. So despite valiant efforts from Christian Braun, Jamal Murray and Russell Westbrook – Denver just didn’t have enough tonight. They’re not invincible after just 24 hours of rest, it turns out. The Nuggets fell to 24-16 and lost 128-108