Nuggets at Rockets
The Houston Rockets just finished a perfect 4-0 road trip and are winners of six straight and 10 of 11 as they close in on the All-Star break. The Rockets will play three of their four games before the break at home, beginning with a visit from the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
All-Star guard James Harden capped the road trip with 41 points on 13-of-25 shooting in a 109-101 triumph at Miami on Wednesday and is averaging 36.2 points on 50.9 percent shooting over the last five games. "We're getting better," Harden told reporters. "We still have a long way to go, obviously, but we're taking the right steps in the right direction." The Nuggets are getting better as well and come into Houston hot with wins in three straight, including victories over Oklahoma City and Golden State. All three of those wins came at home, however, and the Nuggets will play three of their four games before the break on the road -- where they have dropped six straight dating back to Dec. 27.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Altitude (Denver), AT&T SportsNet Southwest (Houston)
ABOUT THE NUGGETS (29-25): Denver buried 18 3-pointers and handed out 30 assists in a 121-104 drubbing of the Charlotte Hornets on Monday and are averaging 15 made 3-pointers and 30 assists over the last three contests. "To me, the best thing about it is how we're getting them," coach Michael Malone told reporters of the 3-point barrage. "It's one thing to hit tough shots. But when you have examples of the ball movement that's generating wide open shots, that makes it so much fun. And it's contagious. That kind of basketball, like we had last year, is contagious. Another game with 30 or more assists, and who doesn't like playing a game like that?" Shooting guard Gary Harris is leading the way while averaging 22.7 points and knocking down 12-of-22 from beyond the arc in the last three contests.
ABOUT THE ROCKETS (40-13): Harden continues to get plenty of support from point guard Chris Paul, who collected 24 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in Wednesday's win. Paul scored at least 22 points in each of the last three games and is shooting 56.3 percent from the floor during that span. Paul and Harden did the bulk of the heavy lifting in Wednesday's win while starting forwards Ryan Anderson (ankle) and Trevor Ariza (leg) and sixth man Eric Gordon (lower back) all sat out.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Nuggets traded PG Emmanuel Mudiay to the New York Knicks as part of a three-team trade on Thursday and acquired veteran PG Devin Harris from Dallas.
2. Rockets C Clint Capela (.658) leads the NBA in field-goal percentage and went 6-of-8 from the floor in Wednesday's win.
3. Harden scored 21 points while Houston crushed Denver 125-95 at home on Nov. 22.