Houston plays Denver, aims for 4th straight home win
Denver Nuggets (50-23, second in the Western Conference) vs. Houston Rockets (47-28, fourth in the Western Conference)
Houston; Thursday, 8 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Houston hosts Denver looking to continue its three-game home winning streak.
The Rockets are 27-19 in Western Conference games. Houston ranks fourth in the Western Conference in team defense, giving up 109.7 points and holding opponents to 46.9 percent shooting.
The Nuggets have gone 19-17 away from home. Denver averages 13.6 turnovers per game and is 19-12 when committing more turnovers than opponents. The Nuggets won 136-122 in the last meeting between these two teams on Feb. 1. Malik Beasley led Denver with 35 points and James Harden led Houston with 30 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Harden is averaging 36.2 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Rockets. Clint Capela has averaged 15.5 points and collected 12.9 rebounds while shooting 68.1 percent over the last 10 games for Houston.
Nikola Jokic leads the Nuggets averaging 7.5 assists while scoring 20.3 points per game. Jamal Murray has averaged 17 points and collected four rebounds while shooting 43.9 percent over the last 10 games for Denver.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 8-2, averaging 107.6 points, 46.9 rebounds, 27.4 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 46.1 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 104.9 points on 45.7 percent shooting.
Rockets: 7-3, averaging 110.5 points, 43.3 rebounds, 20.8 assists, 8.7 steals and four blocks per game while shooting 43.8 percent from the field. Their opponents have averaged 104.3 points on 44.2 percent shooting.
Rockets Injuries: Kenneth Faried: out (knee), Gerald Green: day to day (groin), Eric Gordon: day to day (undisclosed).
Nuggets Injuries: Malik Beasley: day to day (personal), Michael Porter Jr.: out (back).
