Struggling Nuggets strive to get right against Rockets
The Denver Nuggets waited nearly four months to get their starting lineup intact again, and now the task is to return to that unit's early season success.
Denver started 8-2 with its opening-day lineup together but has lost its first two games since it reunited last week. The Nuggets will try to get that ninth win and stop a two-game skid when they host the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
Denver's injury woes started when Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon went down in November, and a month later, Cameron Johnson and Nikola Jokic suffered separate knee injuries. At one point, all five starters were out.
Gordon's hamstrings have been an issue all season -- he has missed 40 games -- and he isn't tentative about playing hard.
"I've got to stay on top of it. But I play without worry," said Gordon, who is averaging 17.3 points in 25 games. "When you're worried about an injury out there, that's usually when it happens. So I feel great. My body feels good. It's just the timing and the pace of the game that needs to come back to me now, but I feel good."
The Nuggets' recent struggles -- six losses in the last 10 games -- have dropped the team to sixth place in the Western Conference. However, they are only 1 1/2 games behind Houston, the current No. 3 seed, and would cut that to a half-game with a win Wednesday.
Jokic leads Denver in average points (28.9), and his rebound (12.5) and assist (10.3) averages lead the NBA. Jamal Murray is averaging 25.4 points a game, which is a career high.
The Rockets have alternated wins and losses over the last six games, including Tuesday night's 113-99 home victory over Toronto. Wednesday night's game will wrap up the four-game series between Houston and the Nuggets, and the Rockets have a chance to even the series, playing on the second night of a back-to-back set.
Houston won the most recent matchup, 115-101 in Denver on Dec. 20, behind 31 points from Kevin Durant, who continues to score at a high level at age 37. He entered Tuesday night leading Houston at 26.1 points a game and scored 29 against the Raptors.
The Rockets allowed a season-high 145 points in a loss to San Antonio on Sunday night, 36 more than they give up on average. Houston coach Ime Udoka said his team has to develop a stronger mentality for the playoffs.
"We have the talent, no doubt," he said. "It's identity, mentality, toughness, dog, all of that is missing right now. We'll see if we can get it back by the end of the season."
The loss to the Spurs might be an outlier, but players such as Durant understand there has to be a commitment on defense -- especially in the playoffs.
"It's tough, man. That's the NBA," he said. "We definitely can do a better job individually, one-on-one and just staying in front of the ball, but they're a tough team to guard."