Denver Nuggets Earn Season Sweep over the Houston Rockets
Tonight’s Denver Nuggets game was as much about discipline as talent. The Houston Rockets have all the trappings of a Western Conference contender. A big post presence in Dwight Howard, a dynamic scorer in James Harden and a host of complementary players should translate into a playoff berth and perhaps a deep run in the playoffs.
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However, when the Nuggets play with discipline, attack the lane, and are active on the defensive end, they look just as talented as the Rockets. The Nuggets spent much of the night with the lead and responded to the challenges launched by the Rockets, literally. At one point the Rockets had hit 13 of 26 attempted threes, but a good portion of the game they looked defenseless and disinterested in playing disciplined basketball.
The first quarter was a highlight reel for the Nuggets as they cut to the basket and slashed their way to 36 points with over 20 of those coming in the paint! Armed with a 14 point lead, the Nuggets started settling for jump shots and turned the ball over too often.
With the second unit on the court, the Rockets started firing from long range and shot their way back into the game outscoring the Nuggets by 18 points in the second quarter. In fact, their long range prowess gave them the 58-54 lead at halftime.
When the two teams returned to the court for the second half it looked like the Nuggets had not learned their lesson. The Rockets seized control in the early part of the third and Nugget fans were getting worried. The Nuggets showed resilience and discipline and got back to what worked. Led by contributions by Lauvergne, Papnikolaou and Harris, the Nuggets outscored the Rockets by 10 points during the third with another huge 34 point quarter.
Dec 14, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jameer Nelson (1) drives to the basket against Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (12) during the first half at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
It came down to the fourth quarter and the Nuggets answered the bell early as they raced out to easy baskets and built a double digit lead halfway through the quarter. With Harris staying hot and Barton competing in his usual aggressive manner, the Nuggets took command.
With slightly over 5 minutes remaining, an interesting interchange happened. After another fastbreak basket, the Nuggets were retreating on defense when Trevor Ariza lost a shoe near half court. Will Barton picked up the shoe and threw it toward the scorers table and both teams had a heated exchange while the officials sorted matters out and awarded a delay of game technical foul on Barton. After the exchange, the Rockets came out with renewed energy and had a 6-0 run to tighten things up.
But the story of the night was discipline. Gary Harris continued to cut to the basket with surgical precision toward his career high 21 points and his teammates continued to reward him.
As the game reached its final two minutes the Nuggets clung to a 8 point lead, but the Rockets kept shooting.
The more experienced Rockets took an 18-4 run into the final minute to cut the lead to 2 points with 37 seconds left following a Harden layup. The Nuggets called a timeout but came up empty on the possession after a long three point attempt. The Pepsi center held its breath as Jason Terry launched a three to tie the game. It rimmed out and Will Barton went to the line to try and ice the Rockets.
With 13.5 seconds left, Barton dropped in two free throws to give the Nuggets a four point lead. The Rockets settled for a long three point attempt by Harden and after gathering in the rebound, young Nikola Jokic hit two free throws to ice the game for the home team.
Barton led the way for the Nuggets with 23 points as six Nuggets scored in double figures and several players offered disciplined contributions to earn the victory. Sometimes simple basketball can beat flashy talent and the Nuggets are learning that lesson this season.