Takeaways from Nuggets’ blow out loss
By Mathew Huff
The Denver Nuggets were steamrolled by the Houston Rockets on the road.
The Denver Nuggets had their toughest test without Paul Millsap yet, and needless to say, they failed. Denver fell to Houston by a final score of 125-95 in a debacle which saw the Nuggets lost on defense far too many times.
Denver Nuggets
Denver gave up 75 first half points and were out gunned and out matched the entire night. 75 points?! Let that sink in for a minute. I think it is safe to say they are already missing Millsap’s rim protection.
Only three players finished in double figures for scoring as the leading scorer was Will Barton with 20 points followed by Nikola Jokic with 17 points and then Gary Harris with 13 points. Denver did not shoot the ball well at all as their team field goal percentage was only 40.2% compared to Houston’s 54.9% shooting from the field.
The Nuggets also lost the turnover battle as they had 19 on the night. The Rockets on the other hand had 18 and also won the battle in the steals department. Houston came away with 13 steals compared to Denver’s 11.
Houston came out much hungrier in this game wanting to claim first place in the Western Conference from the defending champion, Golden State Warriors. They were the more aggressive team the entire night while the Nuggets simply were trying to find some semblance of life in their defensive scheme.
Chris Paul and James Harden were toying with the Nuggets’ porous defense all night and it catapulted the Rockets to an easy win on their home court. At one point, Paul even razzle dazzled Jokic with a crafty between the legs dribble which caught the Joker off guard and resulted in two points for Houston.
Next: Nuggets at Rockets recap
The phrase “there is no place like home,” is starting to become a reality for the depleted Nuggets as they end this road trip at 1-2.