It was a hard-fought, physical affair, but the Denver Nuggets survived a truly great game vs the Houston Rockets to earn a 112-109 win.
The Nuggets brought a great energy and focus to the night, an NBA Cup game against a premiere opponent. From the opening tip, the Nuggets were locked in defensively, showing an ability to counter the Rockets’ size and physicality with some of their own. It was a battle throughout the night, but the Nuggets prevailed through strong offensive process to win their first clutch game of the year as well.
Unfortunately, Aaron Gordon suffered an early injury, re-aggravating a right hamstring injury he’s been dealing with for a little while. That was three minutes into the game, and his absence forced the Nuggets to get creative in how they guarded Kevin Durant and the Rockets throughout the night.
It’s great to have Nikola Jokic to help solve some problems.
Jokic won his matchup against Alperen Sengun in a major way going for 34 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists while shooting 11-of-20 from the field, 4-of-8 from three, and 8-of-10 from the line. Jokic’s aggressiveness throughout the night ramped up as the Nuggets needed more and more scoring from him. He started the game passively, but as he developed a rhythm against Sengun and Steven Adams, Jokic found his jump shot in both the mid-range and three-point line.
Oh, and he also dunked all over Sengun after a nice pump fake and drive.
NIKOLA JOKIC RISE UP. 😤
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 22, 2025
Jamal Murray also stepped up in a major way after a rough first half. He accumulated several points and assists by staying aggressive against defensive demon Amen Thompson, generating switches against bench guard Reed Sheppard, and attacking mismatches vs bigs like Sengun and Steven Adams.
Murray finished the game with an efficient 26 points and 10 assists on 10-of-16 from the field and 3-of-7 from three. He also made clutch plays to end the game, including a free throw, a steal on an interior pass, and somehow blocking Kevin Durant.
Jamal Murray in the last minute of this game:
-Excellent rotation onto an open Alperen Şengün to force the pass to the corner
-Steal the next play, reading the pass to Amen Thompson in the dunker spot
-Layup through three defenders on the other end
Clutch… on both sides of… pic.twitter.com/IKTiXbEtik
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) November 22, 2025
Peyton Watson, Cam Johnson, Bruce Brown, and Spencer Jones all deserve special consideration for their efforts.
Watson was the primary defender on Durant all night and made huge hustle plays. He continues to justify his spot in the starting lineup in the wake of Christian Braun’s injury. Johnson had a quiet night offensively, but his ability to guard on the perimeter and make the right rotation is extremely useful. Brown had three steals and a block in his 21 minutes as he continues to play pesky defense all night long.
Jones started in place of Aaron Gordon in the second half. Interestingly, he spent a lot of time guarding Reed Sheppard, who went off in the first half for 20 points and started the second half too. Jones did a nice job reducing the number of shots he got, as well as switching out onto Durant, Sengun, and others.
Overall, this was a great night for Denver. It’s too bad there’s an injury attached to it, but the Nuggets earned a really impressive road win against a dominant Rockets team.
The Nuggets will play Saturday night against the Sacramento Kings on the second night of a back-to-back. Braun is already out, and Gordon will definitely be out too. I suspect Murray will also rest against the Kings, leaving the Nuggets a bit understaffed. Can they still defend home court? It will take a high effort performance and another great night from Jokic. We will see.