HOUSTON — The Nuggets’ grueling five-game road trip, and their in-season tournament hopes and dreams, spiraled toward a crash landing Friday night at Toyota Center.
After Nikola Jokic scored the first five points of the game, a 13-0 Rockets run snowballed into a 26-point Denver deficit and eventually a 105-86 loss, but not before the Nuggets made the Rockets nervous. Led by 38 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists from Jokic, the gap narrowed to single digits with nine minutes remaining but never got any closer than nine points.
The Nuggets’ second loss in Houston this month concluded a 1-4 road trip in which their only win came against a Detroit team that had dropped 11 in a row. Next is a desperately needed matchup with the struggling Spurs on Sunday at Ball Arena, where no visiting team has won this season.
“We all struggled tonight,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “I did a piss-poor job coaching this team. So this isn’t like the players, this is all of us. Starts with me as a head coach, 1-4 on the road trip.”
The Nuggets (10-6) went 2-2 in the group stage of the inaugural in-season tournament after starting 2-0. The loss eliminated them in the final minutes due to Houston’s run to make it a 19-point margin. Pending the result of New Orleans vs. Los Angeles late Friday, there remained a scenario in which every West B team could finish 2-2 in a five-way tie. Even in that scenario, which would require the Clippers beating the Pelicans and the Mavericks beating the Rockets on Tuesday, Denver’s minus-10 point differential would could not mathematically prevail.
Houston’s blinding red court was a little too on-the-nose as a metaphor for the bleeding Denver couldn’t stop the entire first half. Nuggets players not named Nikola Jokic started the game 1 for 23 from the field with one combined assist and six turnovers in the first 18 minutes. That one made shot was assisted by Jokic, who had a 20-point double-double by the time any of his teammates made it possible for him to have a second assist. He ended the half with three, which accounted for 50% of the remaining Nuggets’ baskets. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope started cooking late in the second quarter onward, ending with 20 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals.
“One thing we can control is effort,” Caldwell-Pope said. “… Get in the right spots. Run and score in transition. Be aggressive on defense.”
The offensive glass was the lone positive from an energy and effort standpoint early, but the Nuggets shot 8 for 23 in the paint and 2 for 10 on second-chance shot attempts in the first half, failing to capitalize on their rebounding success.
Zeke Nnaji was replaced at backup five by Aaron Gordon after spending 75 seconds on the floor. Reggie Jackson was removed two minutes into the second quarter with three turnovers, an 0-for-4 shooting start and a minus-23 accumulated in 10 minutes of playing time. It took Denver 14:22 to finally reach 20 points, on a Jokic jumper. Jackson didn’t return the remainder of the half. The Nuggets tried to survive without a true point guard or by using Collin Gillespie, who played the primary backup minutes instead of Jalen Pickett for the first time since Nov. 12 (last time in Houston).
That in-limbo point guard situation, combined with Jackson’s dud of a game, speaks to how much the defending champions have missed Jamal Murray since his right hamstring injury in early November. Murray once again went through a warm-up routine Friday, appearing increasingly mobile and comfortable before he missed his ninth consecutive game. Denver is 4-5 without him.
“We cannot play worse, so I think a little bit of effort is gonna help us,” Jokic said. “I mean, we can play worse. But we lost five in the last six. So hopefully we can get a couple wins.”
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