Quick Notes: Denver Nuggets vs. Houston Rockets Recap

The Denver Nuggets took the win over the Houston Rockets, concluding the battle between two top-tier teams in the Western Conference. Nugg Love provides some important quick notes.

Going into Wednesday evening’s contest, Nugg Love hinted at the idea of the Denver Nuggets incorporating a few strategies. Head coach Mike Malone made one critical defensive approach to hinder the Houston Rockets. The quick notes for the Denver Nuggets vs. Houston Rockets touch on everything you need to know.

A game of runs

It’s inevitable in the game of basketball that even the worst of teams get a scoring spark. However, both teams going on double-digit scoring runs in the same quarter is astounding. In top-tier NBA  fashion, the Rockets and Nugget amazed the home-crowd in Denver with two 13-0 runs. Backcourt buddies James Harden and Russell Westbrook dominated the first run.

The backcourt mates made a living in the paint with 10 of the 13 points, either a layup or a dunk in the first five minutes. Following the Rockets’ run, Gary Harris took matters into his own hands by igniting the Nuggets offense. Harris scored seven of the 13 points scored by Denver in the last two minutes of the first quarter.

The Nuggets left the home crowd with a good taste in their mouth and kept the hype alive by supplying friction to the flimsy Rockets defense. Still, regardless of the promising finish to an exciting quarter, the game wasn’t decided after 12 minutes of action. Kudos to Denver for bouncing back from Houston’s attack with no hesitation.

Containing James Harden

James Harden is a phenomenal scorer. You can’t dismiss the facts, regardless of how aesthetically unpleasant his playstyle appears. With that said, it’s unfathomable to shut him out of the game completely. Even if he shoots a horrid percentage, at least Harden will push the defense to its threshold. However, the Nuggets succeeded masterfully.

Mike Malone’s gameplan was to force Harden out of scoring position and put the onus on the Rockets as a collective to contribute points. Despite Harden’s 50 percent field goal percentage, he wasn’t able to break through the attack by the Nuggets’ defense. The fact he turned the ball over a season-high eight times is indicative of the applied pressure.

Harden downplayed the strategy in post-game comments by claiming the Nuggets’ defensive efforts were merely a product of luck.  Harden is prone to getting in the groove by dominating the ball, which doesn’t always bode well for the rest of the team. In a sense, the Nuggets gave a chance to Harden’s supporting cast, but ultimately, the supporting cast wasn’t up for the challenge.

Nikola Jokic’s all-around game

Houston Rockets’ starting center Clint Capela dominated the boards with 21 rebounds. In addition to his success at grabbing rebounds, he managed to score 12 points. However, in the grand scheme of the game, Nikola Jokic won the matchup in the frontcourt. Despite the Rockets’ defense successfully taking away Jokic’s assists, he took advantage of a slower defensive assignment.

Jokic, although not a lights-out three-point shooter, will take what you give him. The slow-but-deadly attack of Jokic was on full display. Considering the shockingly low one free throw attempt, it’s incredible he produced such an efficient 27 points. The all-round performance from the star center covered nearly every facet of the Nuggets’ offense.