National Basketball Association
Denver 129, Houston 113
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, November 28, 2022
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Officials: #28 Mousa Dagher, #14 Ed Malloy, #71 Rodney Mott
Attendance: 16027

Nikola Jokic had 16 of his game-high 32 points in a decisive third quarter and also supplied 12 rebounds and eight assists, Jamal Murray scored a season-high 31 points, and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Houston Rockets 129-113 on Monday night.

Zeke Nnaji added 15 points, Bruce Brown had 12 and Ish Smith scored 10 for Denver, which has won three straight. The Nuggets played without Michael Porter Jr. (heel) and Jeff Green (knee).

Alperen Sengun scored 18 points, Jalen Green added 17, Kenyon Martin Jr. had 15 and Kevin Porter Jr. finished with 12 for the Rockets. Houston had its two-game winning streak snapped.

The two teams will play again on the same court on Wednesday night.

Denver led by two at halftime and increased the advantage to 81-73 on a 3-pointer by Jokic and a free throw from Murray early in the third quarter.

The Rockets responded quickly, with two free throws from Sengun, a floater by Green and Jabari Smith Jr.'s 3-pointer to make it 81-80.

Davon Reed drained a 3-pointer and Jokic made two buckets to push the lead to seven. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Murray made 3-pointers to give Denver a 12-point lead with 4:33 left in the third.

Houston cut the deficit to seven, but the Nuggets ended the third with a flurry. Jokic had a layup, split a pair of free throws and assisted on Brown's layup with a full-court pass. Nnaji then drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put Denver ahead 106-91.

Nnaji opened the fourth quarter with a fastbreak dunk, Ish Smith hit a jumper and a layup and then fed DeAndre Jordan for an alley-oop dunk to make it 116-96.

The Rockets shot 12-for-27 from 3-point range in the first half to stay close to Denver. The Nuggets, behind 22 points from Murray through the first 24 minutes, led by as many as seven in the half.

Murray's layup with 12.7 seconds left gave Denver a 70-68 lead at the break.

Houston attempted 44 shots from 3-point range for the game.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Houston   Denver
Alperen Sengun 18 Scoring Nikola Jokic 32
Jalen Green 7 Assists Nikola Jokic 8
Alperen Sengun 7 Rebounds Nikola Jokic 12
Jalen Green 6 Free Throws Made Nikola Jokic 9
Tari Eason 1 Steals Bruce Brown 2
Boban Marjanovic 1 Blocks Bruce Brown 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Houston 113 45.9 16-44 19-25 25 37 2 4 17
Denver 129 56.8 12-30 17-20 31 43 4 8 14
Upcoming Games
  • Denver will play their next game at home against Houston. The Nuggets have a W/L % of .538 after a win and .857 after a loss.
  • Houston will play their next game on the road against Denver. The Rockets have a W/L % of .167 after a win and .286 after a loss.