Refuse a 25-point counterattack!Jokic 23 16, Murray was fouled, and Shen Jing scored 0 points in the final quarter
On December 9, the Rockets hosted Denver and won 114-106 over Denver. The Nuggets have played well this season, however, the last two road defeats have put them in the spotlight against the Rockets.
The Nuggets could end their losing streak, having not won a single game this season. In stark contrast, the Nuggets are already undefeated in their home country, and this time, they will have a complete team and they are confident enough to win this game. Murray, Pope, Porter, Gordon, Jokic, and the Rockets are VanVleet, Green, Dillon, Smith, Shin Jing.
Jokic didn't play well in the first half, and the Rockets relied on Dillon's three-pointers to gradually gain the advantage. Although goals from Porter and others helped the Nuggets maintain their advantage, they still maintained a four-point advantage in the first half.
Although Jokic got into the groove in the second half, VanVleet and Green scored to help them extend their advantage, and by the end of the third quarter, they had an 18-point advantage. However, in the fourth quarter, the Rockets' offense declined, and the Nuggets seized the opportunity to have another 18-0 spurt, but due to previous mistakes, they were unable to achieve a comeback. In the end, the Rockets held off the Nuggets' offense by 25 points.
In the end, VanVleet had 26 rebounds and three assists, and Green had 25 points, three rebounds and one assist. Shin Kyung fell into a slump against Jokic in the third quarter, finishing up with 17 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but still failed to score any points in the fourth quarter. Murray played well, but he was substituted in the fourth quarter because he was unhappy with the referee's decision, and he had 21 five rebounds and three assists. Jokic had 23 games in the game, 16 rebounds and 5 assists, and although he played poorly in the first half, he slowly found his sense in the second half. Jokic was looking to find his groove in the next game, and his 9-of-26 shooting clearly exceeded his expectations.
The Nuggets' loss is good news for the Lakers, as they have been playing well lately and have three wins. The Nuggets were hoping to beat the Rockets to solidify their position in the West, but now they have a good hope of pulling them back from the top three in the East.