Mile High Beating: Rockets Thrash Nuggets, 112-85
Defensive Evolution. Top Numbers. 6 to Go.
Houston’s defense served up the best dish of the season, holding the 50-win Denver Nuggets to only 85 points. It was more than enough, as the Rockets crushed the Nuggets, 121-85, on Thursday night. The victory gives Houston the season-series edge over Denver, 3-1. They’re still 4 games behind the Nuggets for the 2-seed, but this win gives the Rockets a lot of confidence going into the playoffs. James Harden led the way, as he has on most nights this year, scoring 38 points, to go along with 6 boards, and 6 dimes. Clint Capela was a force again in the interior, grabbing 15 rebounds and adding 17 points to the Rockets tally. Eric Gordon continued his smooth stretch of shooting the ball in a zone, finishing with 18 points. And Houston got an early spark from Austin Rivers, who finished with 15 points. Rivers and Iman Shumpert played well on the defensive end at the set the tone on defense for the Rockets. The two mid-season acquisitions are a larger part of Houston’s defensive evolution from one of the worst defensive teams, to one of the best.
Thursday’s win over the Nuggets gives further cements the Rockets’ place in the West among the team’s elite. Houston has a combined record of 6-2 against the top 2 seeds in the Western Conference (Golden State and Denver). The Rockets have the top seeds’ numbers. They’ve had the Nuggets’ number for seasons. And this season, they’ve had the Warriors’ number, with the lone loss coming by 2 points. Houston is ready for the playoffs. Gerald Green and Kenneth Faried are expected back from injuries in the middle of next week. The Rockets currently stand in 4th place out West. Portland has a 1-game edge over Houston for the 3-seed. However, the Blazers unfortunately lost their budding star Center, Jusuf Nurkic, to the nastiest injury of the season. The Blazers aren’t the same team without Nurkic. The question is can the Rockets catch the Blazers for the 3-seed, with only 6 games remaining? That’s to be determined. Portland still has 2 games left against Denver, who is fighting for the top seed with Golden State. All Houston can do is control their own destiny and play their best basketball.
Up next for the Rockets, a home-and-home with the Sacramento Kings. The Kings aren’t eliminated from playoff contention yet, but Houston should be able to do that for Sacramento over the next two contests. After the Kings, the Rockets have games in L.A. against the Clippers, at home against the Knicks and Suns, and on the road in the season finale against the Thunder. The Knicks and Suns are the worst teams in each conference, the Thunder have been on a downward slide since the All-Star break. The Kings seem fatigued and hit a wall earlier in the season. That leaves the game in Los Angeles as the toughest remaining on Houston’s schedule. The Rockets should be able to finish these 6 games with a record of at least 5-1. That’s if they avoid playing down to competition, which has been their biggest enemy all year. Nonetheless, their latest beat-down over the Nuggets proved when the Rockets are engaged and focused, they can play with anyone, and serve up a win on any night.