The Nuggets are not invincible on 24 hours of rest after all.
Back home after blowing out Dallas in prime time, Denver was dealt an unexpected blow an hour before opening tip Wednesday when Nikola Jokic was ruled out due to right elbow inflammation, an injury he sustained while warming up, the team said.
The Nuggets couldn’t overcome the last-minute scratch in a 128-108 loss to the Rockets at Ball Arena, where it felt as if the air had been let out of the building. It was the first time in nine back-to-backs this season that Denver (24-16) has lost the second game.
Jokic has missed six games this season, but this was his most abrupt removal from the lineup. He wasn’t listed on the team’s initial pregame injury report Wednesday. In fact, he was removed after being included on recent ones due to illness. The defending league MVP warmed up while wearing a sleeve on his right arm, but he didn’t appear to be in any pain on the court as he took shots and warmly greeted former teammate Jeff Green.
After being ruled out, Jokic was not on the home bench during the game. Aaron Gordon was also out for the second night of the back-to-back for injury management of his right calf. DeAndre Jordan started in Jokic’s place, formidably defending Alperen Sengun in the paint in the first quarter — until he picked up his third foul.
Houston’s Jalen Green got rolling in the second quarter, scoring 12 of his 34 points and egging on a disgruntled Denver crowd after knocking down a heat-check jumper while getting fouled in the last minute of the half. The Rockets scored 41 in the quarter to lead 69-48 at the break.
Jamal Murray went for 22 points and five assists, shooting 4 of 5 from the perimeter. Russell Westbrook added 17 points with efficient outside shooting, but the two guards combined for 10 turnovers against Houston’s third-ranked defense.
What the Rockets are not supposed to be good at is 3-point shooting. They arrived in Colorado ranking 28th in the league at a 33.4% clip, but they couldn’t miss against the Nuggets. Their 44% night was spearheaded by a 6-for-10 Green.
Christian Braun was able to rediscover his jumper in the loss, scoring 22 points on near-perfect shooting from the field. He drained a couple of 3s and dunked over Cam Whitmore late in the third quarter, in one of the few worthy Denver highlights of the evening. It was a retaliation of sorts after Greene’s poster on Dario Saric. But Whitmore got the last laugh with a transition reverse dunk moments later.
Self-inflicted errors overwhelmed the Nuggets ultimately without Jokic. They committed 18 turnovers, leading to 30 points for Houston.
“It’s not just really good defense; they get a lot of offense off their defense,” Malone said pregame, emphasizing Denver’s need to avoid a half-court game. “Very handsy, very aggressive, very physical team, turning you over. And they turn those mistakes that you make into easy points in transition.”
The Rockets ended up outscoring their hosts 25-7 in fast break points.
After their brief stop at home, the Nuggets are back on the road Thursday with a flight to Miami, where they will face the Heat on Friday night in a matchup that marks Jimmy Butler’s potential return from a controversial seven-game suspension.
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