NBA: Nuggets narrow gap in Western Conference with win over Rockets

Nikola Jokic recorded 16 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds, while Jamal Murray led all scorers with 30 points as the Denver Nuggets crushed the Houston Rockets 129-93 on Wednesday night. The win closes the gap on Houston in the Western Conference standings.

Houston came into the game in third place, 1½ games ahead of sixth-place Denver, with four teams now within a game of the third seed in the West.

Christian Braun added 19 points for the Nuggets, Cameron Johnson scored 17, Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed 14, and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 12, helping Denver win the season series against Houston 3-1.

For the Rockets, Amen Thompson led with 16 points, Josh Okogie had 12, Kevin Durant and Jabari Smith Jr. scored 11 each, and Alperen Sengun finished with 10.

Jokic flirted with a triple-double in the second quarter, finishing the half with six points, seven rebounds, and nine assists. Houston, coming off a home win against Toronto the night before, led 43-42 late in the second quarter. But Denver scored eight straight points to take a 53-47 lead into halftime.

The Nuggets opened the third quarter with a 10-point advantage. Jokic recorded his 10th assist on Johnson’s corner 3-pointer, ending a six-point Houston run. Denver extended the lead after Sengun cut it to 60-55 with a layup, but Jokic, Murray, and Johnson pushed the score to 67-55.

Durant and Thompson tried to slow the Nuggets with jumpers, but Denver responded with a 12-2 run, capped by consecutive 3-pointers from Braun to make it 82-63 and force a Houston timeout.

Denver continued to dominate, going ahead 90-69 on a steal and dunk. Hardaway’s 3-pointer with 4.8 seconds left in the third sent the Nuggets into the fourth quarter with a 93-69 lead. The Nuggets led by as many as 39 points and emptied their bench after Valanciunas’ jumper made it 115-83 midway through the final period.

—Field Level Media/Reuters