The battle for second place in the Western Conference!

The NBA regular season continues. The Houston Rockets are chasing you to face the challenge of the Western Conference rivals the Denver Nuggets at home. The two teams are currently ranked second and third in the Western Conference, only half a game away. The Rockets are currently winning five consecutive games and are gaining momentum. Whether the Nuggets can take away the victory in the away game and continue to maintain the second position in the Western Conference will be a highlight!

Durant's shooting touch was cold in this game!

Regarding the starting lineups of both sides, the Nuggets' Braun is absent, and they have a lineup of Jokic, Murray, Gordon, Watson, and Johnson; the Rockets' VanVleet, Ethan, and Finney all missed the game due to injuries, and they have a combination of Durant, Shen Jing, Smith Jr., Amen Thompson, and Adams!

In the first quarter of the game, the Nuggets' Murray took the lead and scored 5 points on inside and outside shots. Watson made a layup to score 2+1. The Rockets' Amen Thompson and Shen Jing scored consecutively inside the basket. The Nuggets led 8-4 at the beginning. Then the Rockets encountered frequent shooting and a scoring drought of nearly four minutes. The Nuggets' Hardaway and Valanciunas made inside and outside shots to lead 13-4. , Durant broke the team's scoring drought with two emergency-stop mid-range shots from the inside, Jokic hit a three-pointer from the outside, Watson scored 2+1 with a layup, and the Nuggets led 20-8. At the end of the quarter, Durant and Shepard scored consecutive breakthrough layups. Jokic and Brown both scored inside to complete the response. At the end of the first quarter, the Rockets felt cold and the Nuggets led 25-12!

Jokic suppressed Shen Jing in all aspects and led the team to victory!

In the second quarter of the game, Rockets youngster Shepard took the lead in hitting a three-pointer from the outside. The Nuggets' Murray, Valanciunas, and Brown took turns to hit the inside layup, leading 31-20. Adams and Shepard made three consecutive mid-range hits. Brown and Valanciunas responded with inside throws. The Nuggets led 35-26. Then Durant and Shepard hit consecutive three-pointers, and Smith Jr. scored a dunk with an empty cut. The Rockets responded with a wave of 10 -0 climax, chasing the point difference to 38-37 to complete the lead. Hardaway hit two mid-range hits to help the Nuggets stabilize the situation. The Rockets Shepard and Okogie hit consecutive three-pointers from the outside. The Rockets led 44-41 at the quarter. At the end of the game, Jokic and Johnson of the Nuggets made plays under the basket, and Amen Thompson and Smith Jr. made continuous free throws inside to increase the points. At the end of the half, the Rockets won by 16 points in a single quarter and completed the lead at 49-46!

Easy side to fight again, Jokic of the Nuggets suddenly broke out, scoring 9 points in a row from inside and outside, Watson also scored a layup, Shen Jing of the Rockets hit a hook under the basket, the Nuggets went ahead 57-51, Amen Thompson completed two consecutive two-handed dunks, Murray, Jokic, and Watson scored 7 points in a row, the Nuggets led 64-55, Smith Jr. and Shepard hit inside and outside shots to catch up with 5 points, Murray , Jokic responded with shots one after another, and the Nuggets led 69-61. Then the Rockets went on the offensive again. Smith Jr., Durant, and Okogie made shots and jointly launched a 12-2 attack wave. The Rockets led the score 73-71. At the end of the quarter, Jokic and Hardaway stabilized the situation by scoring inside the basket. Smith Jr. and Hardaway completed three-pointers from the outside. After three quarters, the Nuggets completed the lead 80-78!

Durant is in a slump!

In the final quarter of the game, the Rockets took the lead in showing momentum. Amen Thompson and Smith Jr. scored 7 points in a row on inside and outside shots. Shepard also scored a layup. Murray of the Nuggets responded with 5 points from inside and outside. The Rockets led 88-85. Then Brown and Jokic hit consecutive mid-range shots, and Amen Thompson made two empty-cut dunks. The Rockets succeeded in the basket and led 92-89. Jones of the Nuggets hit a three-pointer from the outside. Shen Jing scored two hooks from the basket. The Rockets led 96-94. In the last five minutes of the game, Johnson of the Nuggets scored 5 points in a row with free throws to help the Nuggets overtake the score 99-96. Shepard made only one of three free throws for an outside foul. Missed the opportunity to equalize the score, Jokic and Murray hit consecutive mid-range shots, Adams scored a second tip-in, and the Nuggets led 103-99!

In the last two minutes of the game, the Rockets continued to make mistakes and still showed no improvement on the offensive end. Murray's consecutive shots and penalties helped the Nuggets open the point difference to 107-106. The Arrows adopted foul tactics. Amen Thompson and Smith Jr. hit three-pointers one after another. In the last 3 seconds of the game, the Rockets still had a chance to equalize the score. Shen Jing failed to hit a long three-pointer. In the end, the Nuggets won 112-109 in the away game. The team won two consecutive victories and ended the Rockets' five-game winning streak!

Amen Thompson is the only Rockets starter who performed normally!

The scoring situation of both sides. The Rockets were in a sluggish starting state. Durant felt cold. He made 5 of 14 shots, 1 of 5 three-pointers, and only scored 13 points, 2 of 3 free throws, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Shen Jing was in a sluggish state and made consecutive mistakes in the final quarter. He scored 6 of 14 shots, 2 of 3 free throws, and only scored 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Amen Thompson performed well, scoring 10 of 18 shots and a three-pointer. 1 of 2, 1 of 1 free throw, 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals; Smith Jr. played steadily, 7 of 20 shots, 5 of 11 three-pointers, 2 of 3 free throws, 21 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists; Adams scored 5 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists on 2 of 2 shots; as a substitute, Sheppard stood out and contributed 27 points, 4 assists and 2 steals; Okogie scored 6 points and 2 rebounds; Holiday only scored 1 point!

The Nuggets resisted tenaciously and withstood the Rockets' late counterattack and took home the victory. Jokic took the greatest credit, scoring 11 of 20 shots, 4 of 8 three-pointers, and 8 of 10 free throws, scoring 34 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals; Murray was in hot form, scoring 26 points, 2 rebounds, and 10 assists, scoring 10 of 16 shots, 3 of 7 three-pointers, and 3 of 4 free throws; Watson shot 3 of 5, 3 of 4 free throws, 9 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists; Johnson scored 2 of 6 shots, 1 of 2 three-pointers, 4 of 4 free throws, 9 points and 5 rebounds; Gordon left early due to injury and only scored 1 point and 2 rebounds; as a substitute, Hardaway scored 12 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists; Brown scored 10 points, 3 assists and 3 steals; Valanciunas scored 8 points; Jones scored 3 points and 4 rebounds!