The Houston Rockets 8-game winning streak came to an end in Denver on Wednesday. The Nuggets had a simple game plan coming in: make someone not wearing number 13 beat us. It worked.
The Nuggets repeatedly sent double-teams to force the ball out of James Harden‘s hands and it led to a season-high eight turnovers. His 16 field goal attempts were also his third-lowest mark of the season, meaning Denver’s plan worked to perfection. The Beard couldn’t get into his usual rhythm with extra Nugget defenders constantly taking his extra space.
Harden was able to do well with the shots he was able to get off, finishing with 27 points on 8-16 from the field and 4-8 from 3-point range, but his teammates struggled.