The Rockets jumped on Denver early. They won the 1st quarter 32-24 and the 2nd 22-16, and the Nuggets managed only 40 points in the first half. That fits a team that skipped shootaround and didn't get much sleep. Houston's frontcourt problem was real, with Clint Capela, Steven Adams and Oscar Tshiebwe (illness) all out. But in the first half Houston's offense mattered more than its thin center rotation.
Alperen Sengun was supposed to have the hardest job in the building: guard Jokic and run the offense with nobody behind him. He handled both. He had 20 points on 9-of-17 shooting, 11 rebounds and 8 assists in 35:07. Jokic got his 25 and 16, but Sengun's line came close to matching it. The foul trouble the preview warned about doesn't show up in his minutes, since 35 minutes is a full night for a center with no backup.
Kevin Durant didn't play like the efficient finisher the preview described. He shot 6-of-15 and still finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. That's 20 rebounds and 16 assists combined from Houston's 2 best players, which gave the Rockets a playmaker wherever Denver sent its help defense.
Denver did make it a game in the 2nd half. The Nuggets won the 3rd quarter 28-23 and cut the deficit to 9 going into the 4th. Houston has blown a lead like that at home this season, against Minnesota. This time the Rockets matched Denver almost basket for basket, winning the 4th 33-32 and never letting the lead get any smaller. Both teams scored 30-plus in the final quarter, but the game was decided by Houston's 14-point first half.
Houston's 2-game losing streak is over, and the Rockets are 8-3. The 3 centers who missed this game are all on the injury card, with Adams and Capela pointed at the Washington and Miami trip later this week. That makes this a useful win: they beat Jokic with basically 1 big man. Denver falls to 5-4 and has 2 losses in its last 3. Given the travel and how slowly the Nuggets started, this loss reads more like a scheduling problem than a sign of a real decline.
