Rockets end losing streak in blowout victory over Nuggets

The Houston Rockets held a 105-83 lead with a little over six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Instead of experiencing a major collapse similar to their MLK Day loss against the Thunder, the Rockets continued to compete until the final buzzer en route to a 121-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets, Wednesday night, inside the Toyota Center in Houston.

With the win, Houston put an end to their four-game losing streak, while Mike D’Antoni received his 200th victory as the Rockets head coach.

With the Nuggets missing three of their five starters due to injury, the Rockets took advantage of their depleted opponent by connecting on 47.2% of their shots from the field, 44.8% on 3-point field goal attempts.

Coming off a game where he recorded his eighth triple-double of the season, Russell Westbrook scored a game-high 28 points (11-15 FG) to go along with 16 rebounds, eight assists and four steals in the win.

Unlike their previous contest on Monday, it was a backcourt affair due to a solid performance by James Harden. Still struggling a little with his shot from behind the arc (2-6 3PT), Harden registered 27 points while shooting 6-for-13 from the field, 13-for-15 from the charity stripe.

The Rockets held a 35-28 lead after the first quarter, but use their defense to hold the Nuggets to 15 points in the second period. After capitalizing on 50% of their shot attempts in the first half, the Rockets took a 60-43 lead into the halftime break.

While helping Houston win their eighth consecutive game against the Nuggets in Houston, Eric Gordon had arguably his best performance of the season, as the former Sixth Man of the Year winner recorded 25 points shooting 6-for-8 from behind the arc.

Similar to the rest of his teammates, Clint Capela had a bounce-back outing with 14 points and 12 rebounds on the night.

Denver’s all-star center, Nikola Jokic, led the Nuggets with his eighth triple-double of the season with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the loss. Starting in place of the injured Paul Millsap, Jerami Grant tallied 17 points and seven rebounds, while Torrey Craig added in 14 points of his own.

Following the win, the Rockets will begin a tough four-game road trip out west starting with the 15-29 Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. CT.