Houston Rockets (9-9, 10th in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (14-8, third in the Western Conference)
Denver; Friday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Denver hosts Houston looking to extend its nine-game home winning streak.
The Nuggets have gone 12-6 against Western Conference teams. Denver ranks second in the league with 30.0 assists per game. Nikola Jokic leads the Nuggets averaging 9.8.
The Rockets have gone 8-8 against Western Conference opponents. Houston scores 110.1 points and has outscored opponents by 3.2 points per game.
The Nuggets' 11.5 made 3-pointers per game this season are just 0.3 more made shots on average than the 11.2 per game the Rockets allow. The Rockets average 12.5 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.5 more made shots on average than the 11.0 per game the Nuggets allow.
The teams square off for the fourth time this season. The Nuggets won the last meeting 134-124 on Nov. 30. Jokic scored 32 points to help lead the Nuggets to the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jokic is averaging 28.6 points, 12.9 rebounds and 9.8 assists for the Nuggets. Michael Porter Jr. is averaging 18.7 points over the last 10 games for Denver.
Fred VanVleet is averaging 16.2 points and 9.1 assists for the Rockets. Alperen Sengun is averaging 22.6 points over the last 10 games for Houston.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 5-5, averaging 113.8 points, 42.6 rebounds, 30.4 assists, 7.2 steals and 4.6 blocks per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.6 points per game.
Rockets: 4-6, averaging 108.9 points, 45.4 rebounds, 26.6 assists, 5.7 steals and 5.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.6 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Vlatko Cancar: out (knee).
Rockets: Jock Landale: day to day (illness), Victor Oladipo: out (knee), Amen Thompson: out (ankle).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
