Clint Capela’s historic night leads Rockets to 130-104 win over Nuggets

Clint Capela’s 23 points and 25 rebounds polished off a historic night in the box score for the fourth-year big man from Switzerland. Capela’s efforts led Houston to a 130-104 thrashing of the Denver Nuggets.

Capela’s heroics were not all that Houston gained tonight. James Harden notched a double-double with a team-high 28 points and 11 assists. Gerald Green also scored an impressive 16 points off the bench filling in for the injured Trevor Ariza, who missed his sixth consecutive game tonight.

The Rockets had this game on lock from the get-go and never took their foot off the gas. The team took a 17-point lead into halftime and the lead grew to as much as 35 points early in the fourth quarter. The team simply outplayed the opposition and it was not even close. The starters were not needed in the fourth as Harden (27 minutes) and Chris Paul (22 minutes) got some much-needed rest.

The Rockets also grossly outscored the Nuggets from the three-point line. Houston sunk 19 of their 41 threes, good for 46 percent. Denver, meanwhile, only made three triples all night in 28 attempts. The Rockets outscored the Nuggets 57-9 from beyond the three-point line. No, that is not a typo.

The Nuggets were just a step below the Rockets tonight, except for Trey Lyles, who scored 24 points off the bench. He was easily Denver’s most effective player all night and the rest of the team was not up to par.

For the Rockets, this was their seventh straight win and the team has won 15 of their last 17 games. The team continues to make a push for the top seed in the West, as the team trails the Golden State Warriors by just a half-game.

The Rockets will look to make it eight straight as they welcome the West’s worst team in the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. Tipoff is at 6 PM CT.