Kevin Durant had 23 points, Alperen Sengun added 20, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 110-100 on Monday night at Toyota Center to snap a two-game skid, per the Associated Press.
Houston improved to 8-3 (5-1 at home) after losses at Minnesota and Phoenix. The win was also the Rockets’ first of the season in their white Association jerseys, which they had been 0-3 in coming into the night, per Rockets Wire. Denver fell to 5-4, ending a two-game winning streak. Jamal Murray scored 38 and Nikola Jokic had 25 points and 16 rebounds, but Houston led for 95% of the game, per ESPN. Read our Rockets vs. Nuggets pregame.
How It Happened
- First quarter: Houston opened with 32 points and led 32-24 after one.
- Halftime: The Rockets held Denver to 16 points in the second quarter and took a 54-40 lead into the break.
- Third quarter: Houston pushed the lead to 16 early in the period before Denver went on an 18-2 run, powered by 3-pointers from Jokic, Murray and Cameron Johnson, to tie it 60-60 with about five minutes left. The Rockets missed nine straight shots in that stretch, per the AP. Tari Eason ended a field-goal drought of more than six minutes with about four minutes left in the third, starting an 11-2 run that made it 71-62. Houston led 77-68 after three.
- Fourth quarter: Reed Sheppard hit two big 3-pointers in the fourth: a 30-footer assisted by Sengun at 9:37 that made it 85-76, and a 25-footer at 7:44 that made it 91-83. Murray scored four quick points to get Denver within 91-87, but Sengun scored inside and Fred VanVleet hit a 26-foot 3 to make it 96-87 with 5:34 left.
- The close: Murray made two free throws to cut it to 96-90 with 5:01 left. Christian Braun missed a pair of free throws after that, and baskets from Sengun and Amen Thompson pushed the lead to 100-90 with 3:56 left. Jabari Smith Jr. and VanVleet each hit 3s off Sengun assists to make it 106-96 with 2:06 to go, and Durant made two free throws with 32.5 seconds left to close it out.
Sengun and Durant Carry the Load
Sengun finished with 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting, 12 rebounds (five offensive) and eight assists, including assists on Sheppard’s first fourth-quarter 3, Smith’s 3 and VanVleet’s late 3. Durant had 23 points on 6-of-15 shooting, went 10-of-10 at the line and added 12 rebounds and eight assists, with six turnovers, per ESPN.
Houston’s bench outscored Denver’s 33-22. Eason had 12 points, five rebounds and two steals with a team-best plus-18 in 19 minutes. Sheppard had eight points on two 3s and a jumper and was plus-11 in 17 minutes. Bogdan Bogdanovic added eight points on 2-of-2 shooting from 3.
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Rockets Box Score Leaders
- Kevin Durant: 23 points (6-15 FG, 1-3 3PT, 10-10 FT), 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 6 turnovers in 36 minutes
- Alperen Sengun: 20 points (9-17 FG), 12 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal, 1 block in 35 minutes
- Jabari Smith Jr.: 14 points (6-13 FG, 2-8 3PT), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, plus-10
- Fred VanVleet: 12 points (4-9 FG, 3-6 3PT), 2 assists
- Tari Eason: 12 points (5-11 FG, 2-6 3PT), 5 rebounds, 2 steals off the bench, plus-18
- Amen Thompson: 8 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists in 35 minutes
- Reed Sheppard: 8 points (3-8 FG, 2-7 3PT) in 17 minutes off the bench, plus-11
- Bogdan Bogdanovic: 8 points (3-5 FG, 2-2 3PT), 3 rebounds in 12 minutes
- Marcus Smart: 5 points, 2 assists in 17 minutes
Nuggets Leaders
Murray scored 38 points on 14-of-23 shooting, including 5-of-8 from 3 and 5-of-5 at the line, his fourth game this season with at least 34 points, per the AP. Jokic had 25 points on 11-of-21 shooting and 16 rebounds. Cameron Johnson scored eight, DeMar DeRozan had seven off the bench, and Marvin Bagley III added six.
By the Numbers
- Houston shot 41-of-91 (45.1%) from the field and 14-of-38 (36.8%) from 3, per ESPN. Denver shot 37-of-83 (44.6%) and 8-of-29 (27.6%).
- The Rockets went 14-of-17 (82.4%) at the line. The Nuggets were 18-of-25 (72%).
- Houston outrebounded Denver 51-39, including 15-7 on the offensive glass.
- The Rockets had 29 assists on 41 made baskets. Denver had 20 assists on 37 makes.
- Houston won the paint 46-40 and the fast break 11-5.
- Each team committed 10 turnovers.
- Houston’s largest lead was 19. Denver’s was two. The lead changed hands three times.
- Attendance was 18,055.
What’s Next
The Rockets host the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 8:30 p.m. CT at Toyota Center. Denver visits the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.
Houston was again without centers Steven Adams (right soleus strain) and Clint Capela (right ankle sprain).
Follow all of LFG Houston’s Rockets coverage.
Stats via the official box score at ESPN. Game details via the Associated Press and ESPN play-by-play. Jersey record via Rockets Wire. No Houston Chronicle or The Athletic recap was posted at draft time. Official NBA and Rockets YouTube highlights were not posted yet.
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