Arron Afflalo, Ty Lawson shine; Houston Rockets lose a crucial game to Denver Nuggets – NBA Recap
The Houston Rockets travelled to Denver to take on the Denver Nuggets Sunday night in a very important match for both teams in terms of playoff positioning. Both Rockets and the Broncos were fighting for the 7th position
in the Western Conference. However, on Sunday night, the Nuggets made Houston play their game and won 101-86.
Arron Afflalo and Ty Lawson both added 20 points for Denver as the Nuggets outscored the Rockets 37-19 in the 3rd quarter to seal the deal. Luis Scola had a team high 19 points for the Rockets.
The Rockets took the lead with the first points of the match and then never lost it throughout the 1st quarter. The Nuggets tied the game on two occasions, but the Rockets managed to hold on to their lead on both, pulling
away from the trailing Nuggets. Houston finished the 1st quarter with a 3 pointer by Chase Budinger to lead 27-22 going into the 2nd period.
Denver took the lead for the first time in the match when they started the 2nd period with 6 straight points. A dunk my JaVale McGee gave the Nuggets a 28-27 advantage over the Rockets. Houston quickly regained the lead
with a 3 pointer by Goran Dragic. The Rockets kept the lead this time, to close the first half leading the Nuggets 49-43.
The third quarter, however, belonged to the Nuggets alone. They trailed Houston by 6 points at the start but outscored the Rockets 37-19 in the quarter to lead at the end. Denver went on a 26-10 run in the period to take a 71-61
lead and closed the quarter leading 80-68. Houston had no answer for Denver’s offense in the 3rd period and the Nuggets seemed to be penetrating the paint area at will.
Denver continued their offensive momentum in the 4th quarter and opened the period with a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 87-68. Houston could not come back in the match after trailing by such a big margin and the Nuggets
held on to win 101-86.
"Second half we missed a ton of shots and they ran after it. They got into us and played better. In the second half they dominated the game" said Rockets coach Kevin McHale.
Corey Brewer had 14 points for Denver, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Andre Miller came off the bench to score 6 points and dish a game high 11 assists. Chase Budinger had 19 points and 6 rebounds for Houston
while Goran Dragic managed only 12 points and 6 assists. Chandler Parsons added 12 points and 9 rebounds for Houston.
The Nuggets shot 49.4% from the field compared with 36.8% for Houston. Houston’s three point shooting was better than Denver at 38.5%, but they were outplayed in almost every other area. The Nuggets beat Houston 45-41 in rebounds
and 27-17 in assists.
Both teams were matched in turnovers, with Houston committing 17 against 16 for Denver. The Nuggets outscored Houston 29-10 in fast break points and a staggering 60-26 in points within the paint.
Houston centre Marcus Camby had to leave the game after playing only 8 minutes as he was not feeling well. The Nuggets took full advantage of Houston’s softened up defence and penetrated at will for easy buckets.
Goran Dragic and Kyle Lowry were cold on the night, with both players scoring a combined 15 points. With this loss, Houston have dropped to 8th place in the Western Conference and Denver have climbed up to 7th.
These two teams play each other again on Monday night in Houston.
Tags: