It was a night to forget for the Denver Nuggets for a team that had the opportunity to capture the one-seed in the Western Conference. That one-seed will have to wait as the Houston Rockets won their 20th game of the season to the tune of a 124-103 beatdown of the Nuggets. Denver had a chance going into the fourth quarter as they only trailed by one point, but the Rockets outscored the Nuggets 38-18 to push their second to worst league-wide record to 20-60.
With the loss, Denver’s record moves to 52-27, which gives them just a two-game cushion over the Memphis Grizzlies for second place in the Western Conference. The most concerning aspect of tonight’s loss was that Nikola Jokic returned to the lineup and the Nuggets still struggled to score the basketball, as well as defend. Jokic finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists, which may spell the end of his chance to win a third straight MVP as Joel Embiid scored 52 points to go along with 13 rebounds leading the Philadelphia 76ers past the Boston Celtics on national TV.
To make matter worse, Jamal Murray played just nine minutes in the loss as he left the game with a right thumb sprain. Michael Porter Jr. did show up for the Nuggets as he poured in 23 points behind six three-pointers. Porter was the Nuggets leading scorer and had a solid third quarter that kept Denver in the game.
Denver will have a chance to secure the one-seed yet again on Thursday when they head to Phoenix to face the Suns. That game will tip-off at 8 PM MST and will be televised nationally on TNT.
