Rockets Beat Nuggets 110-100 as Durant Scores 23 in Houston

Kevin Durant scored 23 points and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 110-100 at Toyota Center in Houston on Monday night. Jamal Murray led all scorers with 38 points for Denver, but Houston led by 14 at halftime and held the lead to the end.

Durant and Sengun lead Houston

Durant played 36 minutes 10 seconds and shot 6 of 15 from the field. He made all 10 of his free throws and finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists.

Alperen Sengun scored 20 points for Houston with 11 rebounds and 8 assists in 35 minutes 7 seconds. He shot 9 of 17 from the field.

Jabari Smith Jr. scored 14 points with 7 rebounds for Houston. Fred VanVleet scored 12 points, and Tari Eason scored 12 points off the bench.

Houston builds the lead early

Houston won the first quarter 32-24 and the second quarter 22-16 to lead 54-40 at halftime. The Rockets' biggest lead of the night was 19 points. Denver's biggest lead was 2 points.

Houston outrebounded Denver 54 to 52 and led in assists 29 to 20. The Rockets won the fourth quarter 33-32 after Denver had taken the third.

Murray and Jokic carry Denver

Murray played 39 minutes 12 seconds and shot 14 of 23 from the field. He made 5 of 8 shots from three point range and all 5 of his free throws on his way to 38 points, the highest total in the game.

Nikola Jokic scored 25 points for Denver with 16 rebounds and 9 assists in 38 minutes 38 seconds. He shot 11 of 21 from the field.

Denver won the third quarter 28-23 to cut the Houston lead to 77-68. The Nuggets scored 32 points in the fourth quarter, but Houston scored 33 and the early gap held.

Closing seconds and records

Durant made two free throws with 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter to put Houston ahead 110-98. Bryce Hopkins scored for Denver with 17 seconds left to set the 110-100 final.

Houston improved to 8-3 with the win. Denver fell to 5-4. Ime Udoka coached Houston and David Adelman coached Denver. Sportradar recorded the final as Houston 110, Denver 100, and VAVEL USA reported the same full time score.