Houston Rockets (16-8, fifth in the Western Conference) vs. Denver Nuggets (20-6, second in the Western Conference)
Denver; Saturday, 5 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Denver will attempt to prolong its six-game win streak with a victory against Houston.
The Nuggets are 14-5 against Western Conference opponents. Denver is eighth in the Western Conference at limiting opponent scoring, allowing only 116.2 points while holding opponents to 46.7% shooting.
The Rockets are 9-7 against Western Conference opponents. Houston is seventh in the Western Conference with 32.6 defensive rebounds per game led by Alperen Sengun averaging 6.3.
The Nuggets make 51.8% of their shots from the field this season, which is 5.6 percentage points higher than the Rockets have allowed to their opponents (46.2%). The Rockets are shooting 48.6% from the field, 1.9% higher than the 46.7% the Nuggets' opponents have shot this season.
The teams play for the third time this season. The Nuggets won the last matchup 128-125 in overtime on Dec. 16. Nikola Jokic scored 39 points to help lead the Nuggets to the win.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jokic is averaging 29.6 points, 12.3 rebounds and 10.9 assists for the Nuggets. Jamal Murray is averaging 32.0 points over the last 10 games.
Sengun is averaging 23.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.5 steals for the Rockets. Kevin Durant is averaging 32 points, seven rebounds and four blocks over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nuggets: 8-2, averaging 128.6 points, 41.6 rebounds, 30.2 assists, 6.6 steals and 3.9 blocks per game while shooting 53.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 120.1 points per game.
Rockets: 6-4, averaging 118.7 points, 48.4 rebounds, 26.3 assists, 8.9 steals and 6.1 blocks per game while shooting 48.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 111.5 points.
INJURIES: Nuggets: Peyton Watson: day to day (side), Christian Braun: out (ankle), Aaron Gordon: out (hamstring).
Rockets: Fred VanVleet: out for season (acl), Dorian Finney-Smith: out (ankle), Tari Eason: day to day (oblique).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
