THOMAS (AP) — Sunday night, the Houston Rockets defeated the Denver Nuggets 107-104 behind the scoring of Fred VanVleet, who finished with 26 points, and Alperen Sengun, who added 23.
The team’s winning run of six games is the longest for Houston since it won seven in a row in January 2021.
In the defeat, Nikola Jokic recorded his fourth triple-double of the year with 36 points, 21 rebounds, and 11 assists.
With 19.1 seconds left, Jokic made a 3-pointer to trim Houston’s lead to 103-102. After a Denver foul, VanVleet made two free throws. Jae’Sean Tate stole the inbounds pass on the following play. Jokic missed a full-court shot to tie the game at the buzzer.
With 19.1 seconds left, Jokic made a 3-pointer to trim Houston’s lead to 103-102. After a Denver foul, VanVleet made two free throws. Jae’Sean Tate stole the inbounds pass on the following play. Jokic missed a full-court shot to tie the game at the buzzer.
It was the Nuggets’ best start going into the game since they started 9-1 in the 2018–19 campaign. Houston began the season 0-3, but has since improved to 6-3.
With 1:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, veteran Rocket Jeff Green made a big 3-pointer to put Houston ahead 103-94. Green participated in every one of Denver’s 20 postseason games during their 2017 championship run. Using his bench, Green scored 15 points on Sunday.
With 1:49 remaining in the fourth quarter, veteran Rocket Jeff Green made a big 3-pointer to put Houston ahead 103-94. Green participated in every one of Denver’s 20 postseason games during their 2017 championship run. Using his bench, Green scored 15 points on Sunday.
With two seconds remaining in the third quarter, Collin Gillespie made a 20-foot jump shot, giving Denver a 76-74 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Michael Porter Jr. led Jokic in scoring with 25 points, Aaron Gordon had 16 and Reggie Jackson had 14.
Due to a right hamstring strain, Jamal Murray missed his third straight game.
In the final seconds of the second quarter, Jalen Green made a pull-back 3-pointer that trimmed Denver’s halftime lead to 50-46. On 1 of 13 shots, he finished the game with nine points.
After losing ten games in a row, Houston has won two straight against Denver.
Next up
Nuggets: On Tuesday night, they will host the Los Angeles
Clippers as part of the NBA In-Season Tournament.
Rockets: Play the Clippers on Friday night to begin a three-game road trip through California.
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6th straight Rockets victory over the Nuggets
The Rockets battled valiantly. They were tightly guarded by the Denver Nuggets, the reigning champions. Shame does not exist in…Give me a moment to edit my initial draft.
Rockets triumph, my love!
This was an attrition-based war. During the game, there were times when both offenses stagnated. Ultimately, the Rockets’ 107-104 victory was largely due to their bench production.
We haven’t seen anything like that throughout the season. Their second unit didn’t provide much for the Nuggets. Collin Gillespie scored six points on three of his nine field goal attempts. Zeke Nnaji contributed a bucket that included an uncontested putback and an all too simple offensive rebound. The Nuggets’ bench would be unable to produce without it.
On his own, Jeff Green outscored that pair. With some audacious shots in the closing minutes, he finished with 15 points. Green’s memorable performance against his old team was actually only one storyline in an extremely rich narrative. Alperen Sengun (23 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) was beaten by his mentor Nikola Jokic (36 points, 21 rebounds, 11 assists), but Sengun wasn’t far behind.
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