Game ID: 22500386
Houston Rockets @ Denver Nuggets
Saturday, December 20, 2025 at 5:00 PM ET
Ball Arena, Denver, CO
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
DEN 29 16 21 35 101HOU 26 27 29 33 115
DEN vs HOU ScoutingDEN vs HOU Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
DEN availability going into 12/07 · 1 day's restOUT Braun missed 11 since 11/15, out tonight
OUT Gordon missed 7 since 11/22, out tonight
OUT Strawther missed 10 since 11/17, out tonight
BACK Pickett back 11/29 after 5, 2 min since (10% of 16)
DEN availability going into 12/11 · 3 days' restOUT Braun missed 12 since 11/15, out tonight
OUT Gordon missed 8 since 11/22, out tonight
OUT Strawther missed 11 since 11/17, out tonight
BACK Pickett back 11/29 after 5, 6 min since (41% of 16)
NEW Johnson 31 to 36 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 12/15 · 3 days' restOUT Braun missed 13 since 11/15, out tonight
OUT Gordon missed 9 since 11/22, out tonight
OUT Strawther missed 12 since 11/17, out tonight
DEN availability going into 12/18 · 2 days' restOUT Braun missed 14 since 11/15, out tonight
OUT Gordon missed 10 since 11/22, out tonight
OUT Strawther missed 13 since 11/17, returns tonight: 6 min (40% of 15)
NEW Johnson 31 to 37 min over the last 5
DEN availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restOUT Braun missed 15 since 11/15, out tonight
OUT Gordon missed 11 since 11/22, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 12/18 after 13, 6 min since (40% of 15)
NEW Johnson 31 to 37 min over the last 5
NEW Pickett 16 to 22 min over the last 3
DEN availability going into 12/22 · 1 day's restOUT Braun missed 16 since 11/15, out tonight
OUT Watson missed 2 since 12/18, returns tonight: 28 min (94% of 30)
OUT Gordon missed 12 since 11/22, out tonight
BACK Strawther back 12/18 after 13, 5 min since (36% of 15)
NEW Johnson 31 to 36 min over the last 5
NEW Pickett 16 to 22 min over the last 4
DEN availability going into 12/23 · back-to-backOUT Braun missed 17 since 11/15, out tonight
OUT Gordon missed 13 since 11/22, out tonight
BACK Watson back 12/22 after 2, 28 min since (94% of 30)
BACK Strawther back 12/18 after 13, 7 min since (50% of 15)
NEW Pickett 16 to 23 min over the last 4
DEN availability going into 12/25 · 1 day's restOUT Braun missed 18 since 11/15, out tonight
OUT Gordon missed 14 since 11/22, out tonight
BACK Watson back 12/22 after 2, 26 min since (88% of 30)
BACK Strawther back 12/18 after 13, 9 min since (58% of 15)
DEN availability going into 12/27 · 1 day's restOUT Braun missed 19 since 11/15, out tonight
OUT Gordon missed 15 since 11/22, out tonight
BACK Watson back 12/22 after 2, 31 min since (106% of 30)
BACK Strawther back 12/18 after 13, 9 min since (62% of 15)
HOU availability going into 12/06 · back-to-backOUT Eason missed 9 since 11/16, out tonight
OUT Finney-Smith missed 20 since 10/21, out tonight
BACK Durant back 11/30 after 2, 34 min since (92% of 36)
NEW Holiday 14 to 26 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 12/11 · 4 days' restOUT Sengun missed 2 since 12/05, returns tonight: 36 min (107% of 34)
OUT Eason missed 10 since 11/16, out tonight
OUT Finney-Smith missed 21 since 10/21, out tonight
BACK Durant back 11/30 after 2, 33 min since (91% of 36)
NEW Holiday 14 to 25 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 12/15 · 3 days' restOUT Eason missed 11 since 11/16, out tonight
OUT Finney-Smith missed 22 since 10/21, out tonight
BACK Sengun back 12/11 after 2, 36 min since (107% of 34)
NEW Holiday 14 to 25 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 12/18 · 2 days' restOUT Eason missed 12 since 11/16, out tonight
OUT Finney-Smith missed 23 since 10/21, out tonight
BACK Sengun back 12/11 after 2, 39 min since (116% of 34)
NEW Okogie 17 to 23 min over the last 5
NEW Holiday 14 to 20 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 12/20 · 1 day's restOUT Eason missed 13 since 11/16, out tonight
OUT Finney-Smith missed 24 since 10/21, out tonight
BACK Sengun back 12/11 after 2, 38 min since (113% of 34)
NEW Okogie 17 to 24 min over the last 5
NEW Holiday 14 to 19 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 12/21 · back-to-backOUT Eason missed 14 since 11/16, returns tonight: 16 min (59% of 26)
OUT Finney-Smith missed 25 since 10/21, out tonight
BACK Sengun back 12/11 after 2, 36 min since (107% of 34)
NEW Smith Jr. 36 to 41 min over the last 5
NEW Okogie 17 to 26 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restOUT Finney-Smith missed 26 since 10/21, out tonight
BACK Sengun back 12/11 after 2, 37 min since (110% of 34)
BACK Eason back 12/21 after 14, 16 min since (59% of 26)
NEW Durant 36 to 42 min over the last 5
NEW Okogie 17 to 28 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 12/25 · 1 day's restOUT Finney-Smith missed 27 since 10/21, returns tonight: 13 min (81% of 16)
BACK Eason back 12/21 after 14, 17 min since (64% of 26)
NEW Okogie 17 to 26 min over the last 5
HOU availability going into 12/27 · 1 day's restBACK Eason back 12/21 after 14, 20 min since (76% of 26)
BACK Finney-Smith back 12/25 after 27, 13 min since (81% of 16)
NEW Okogie 17 to 23 min over the last 5
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 128 a night and allowing 117, shooting 54 percent and 42 from three, 26 free throws a game; Jokić at 33 and Murray at 27 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Braun (15 straight), Gordon (11 straight). One day's rest. Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 119, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 21 free throws a game; Sengun at 28 and Durant at 26 a game. It has won the glass by 12 a night. Without Eason (13 straight), Finney-Smith (24 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-12 a night and Denver minus-4 and the turnovers, Houston giving it away 18 times a game to Denver's 11. Call it Denver 122, Houston 116.
12/07 @ CHA 115-106 — DEN notes
DEN won 115-106. DEN shot 52% (43 of 83) to CHA's 45%, 13 of 35 from three. The glass went 35-47 against them. Murray led with 34 (14 of 25, 2 of 9 from three); Jokić added 28, Hardaway Jr. 14. The hinge was Q3, 30-23: DEN came in trailing by 1 and left it ahead by 6. DEN trailed 57-58 at the half and won the second half 58-48. Murray was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
12/11 @ SAC 136-105 — DEN notes
DEN won 136-105. DEN shot 59% (52 of 88) to SAC's 45%, 12 of 29 from three, and went to the line 29 times to SAC's 23 — 20 points from the stripe to their 16. Jokić led with 36 (14 of 16, 6 of 8 at the line); Watson added 21, Johnson 16. The hinge was Q1, 41-26: from level to 15 ahead, and the lead reached 37. Jokić was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
12/15 vs HOU 128-125 — DEN notes
DEN won 128-125 in 1 overtime. DEN shot 51% (43 of 85) to HOU's 51%, 15 of 34 from three, and went to the line 33 times to HOU's 26 — 27 points from the stripe to their 19. DEN turned it over 10 times to HOU's 16. Jokić led with 39 (13 of 27, 5 of 9 from three, 8 of 11 at the line); Murray added 35, Johnson 13. The hinge was Q2, 34-21: DEN came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 7.
12/18 vs ORL 126-115 — DEN notes
DEN won 126-115. DEN shot 56% (49 of 88) to ORL's 47%, 16 of 36 from three, and got to the line 15 times to ORL's 26. Murray led with 32 (11 of 22, 7 of 12 from three); Jokić added 23, Johnson 19. The hinge was Q2, 43-22: DEN came in trailing by 7 and left it ahead by 14, and the lead reached 21. Johnson was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
12/20 vs HOU 101-115 — DEN notes
DEN lost 101-115. DEN took 15 more shots (92 to 77), fed by 10 offensive rebounds, but shot 40% to HOU's 51%, 8 of 29 from three. DEN turned it over 11 times to HOU's 19. Jokić led with 25 (9 of 20, 1 of 4 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Murray added 16, Brown 12. Q1 was theirs, 29-26, but the other 3 periods went 89-72 against them. Hardaway Jr.'s -22 in 30 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/22 vs UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 113, shooting 51 percent and 39 from three, 24 free throws a game; Jokić at 30 and Murray at 26 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Braun (16 straight), Watson (2 straight), Gordon (12 straight). One day's rest. Utah comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 132, shooting 47 percent and 38 from three, 29 free throws a game; George at 29 and Bailey at 12 a game. Without Markkanen (2 straight), Kessler (22 straight), Harkless (13 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the defense, Denver allowing 113 a night to Utah's 132 and the line, where Utah takes 29 free throws a game to Denver's 24. Call it Denver 127, Utah 117, Denver by 10.
12/23 @ DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Dallas comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 121, shooting 48 percent and 27 from three, 28 free throws a game; Flagg at 25 and Davis at 24 a game. Second night of a back-to-back. Denver comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 114, shooting 51 percent and 43 from three, 25 free throws a game; Jokić at 27 and Murray at 24 a game. Without Braun (17 straight), Gordon (13 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Denver wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Denver at 43 percent from three to Dallas's 27 and the turnovers, Dallas giving it away 16 times a game to Denver's 11. Call it Denver 121, Dallas 116.
12/25 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 120, shooting 51 percent and 44 from three, 21 free throws a game; Murray at 28 and Jokić at 26 a game. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Braun (18 straight), Gordon (14 straight). One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 106, shooting 42 percent and 32 from three, 29 free throws a game; Edwards at 29 and Randle at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, and the game turns on the arc, Denver at 44 percent from three to Minnesota's 32 and the defense, Minnesota allowing 106 a night to Denver's 120. Call it Denver 117, Minnesota 115, Minnesota keeping it close.
12/27 @ ORL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 120, shooting 44 percent and 33 from three, 26 free throws a game; Black at 21 and Bane at 19 a game. Without Fra. Wagner (6 straight), Suggs (5 straight), Bitadze (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Denver comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 127 a night and allowing 122, shooting 50 percent and 44 from three, 21 free throws a game; Jokić at 29 and Murray at 28 a game. Without Braun (19 straight), Gordon (15 straight). One day's rest.
So: Denver wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Denver at 44 percent from three to Orlando's 33 and the line, where Orlando takes 26 free throws a game to Denver's 21. Call it Denver 120, Orlando 117, Orlando keeping it close.
12/06 @ DAL 109-122 — HOU notes
HOU lost 109-122. HOU shot 51% (44 of 87) to DAL's 60%, 10 of 29 from three, and got to the line 13 times to DAL's 20. HOU turned it over 18 times to DAL's 12, and DAL turned those into 13 steals. Durant led with 27 (11 of 20, 1 of 3 from three); Smith Jr. added 22, Holiday 19. Q4 was theirs, 32-28, the deficit cut from 17 to 13, but the other 3 periods went 94-77 against them. Thompson's -14 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/11 vs LAC 115-113 — HOU notes
HOU won 115-113. HOU shot 46% (43 of 93) to LAC's 50%, 12 of 34 from three. The glass went 51-28 for them. Sengun led with 22 (9 of 22, 0 of 3 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Thompson added 20, Smith Jr. 18. The hinge was Q4, 35-31: HOU came in trailing by 2 and left it ahead by 2. HOU trailed 51-54 at the half and won the second half 64-59. Adams was the night's best plus/minus at +10.
12/15 @ DEN 125-128 — HOU notes
HOU lost 125-128 in 1 overtime. HOU took 8 more shots (93 to 85), fed by 12 offensive rebounds, but shot 51% to DEN's 51%, 12 of 25 from three, and got to the line 26 times to DEN's 33. HOU turned it over 16 times to DEN's 10, and DEN turned those into 10 steals. Sengun led with 33 (14 of 27, 5 of 6 at the line); Durant added 25, Smith Jr. 16. Q1 was theirs, 30-24, but the other 4 periods went 104-95 against them. Adams's -8 in 16 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/18 @ NOP 128-133 — HOU notes
HOU lost 128-133 in 1 overtime. HOU took 10 more shots (107 to 97), fed by 25 offensive rebounds, but shot 47% to NOP's 51%, 10 of 32 from three. HOU turned it over 18 times to NOP's 12, and NOP turned those into 15 steals. The glass went 58-41 for them. Durant led with 32 (12 of 15, 4 of 6 from three); Sengun added 28, Thompson 23. Q2 was theirs, 34-21, but the other 4 periods went 112-94 against them. They led by as many as 25.
12/20 @ DEN 115-101 — HOU notes
HOU won 115-101. HOU shot 51% (39 of 77) to DEN's 40%, 19 of 35 from three. HOU turned it over 19 times to DEN's 11, and DEN turned those into 9 steals. Durant led with 31 (8 of 14, 5 of 6 from three, 10 of 11 at the line); Sheppard added 28, Smith Jr. 22. The hinge was Q2, 27-16: HOU came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 8, and the lead reached 21. Sengun was the night's best plus/minus at +24.
12/21 @ SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 120, shooting 45 percent and 30 from three, 27 free throws a game; DeRozan at 19 and Raynaud at 16 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without LaVine (2 straight), Sabonis (14 straight), Plowden (16 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 119, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 22 free throws a game; Durant at 26 and Sengun at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 12 a night. Without Eason (14 straight), Finney-Smith (25 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Houston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-12 a night and Sacramento minus-2 and the arc, Houston at 41 percent from three to Sacramento's 30. Call it Houston 119, Sacramento 114.
12/23 @ LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 1-4 over their last five, scoring 105 a night and allowing 111, shooting 47 percent and 35 from three, 23 free throws a game; Leonard at 24 and Harden at 22 a game. Without Jones Jr. (15 straight). 2 days' rest. Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 120, shooting 48 percent and 42 from three, 24 free throws a game; Durant at 26 and Sengun at 24 a game. It has won the glass by 10 a night. Without Finney-Smith (26 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-10 a night and the Clippers plus-0 and the arc, Houston at 42 percent from three to the Clippers' 35. Call it Houston 116, the Clippers 113, the Clippers keeping it close.
12/25 @ LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Lakers come in 2-3 over their last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 123, shooting 46 percent and 30 from three, 31 free throws a game; Dončić at 30 and James at 26 a game. Without Hachimura (2 straight), Vincent (3 straight). One day's rest. Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 123, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 24 free throws a game; Durant at 27 and Sengun at 23 a game. It has won the glass by 7 a night. Without Finney-Smith (27 straight). One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Houston at 41 percent from three to the Lakers' 30 and the line, where the Lakers take 31 free throws a game to Houston's 24. Call it Houston 119, the Lakers 118, the Lakers keeping it close.
12/27 vs CLE — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 117, shooting 50 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Durant at 27 and Thompson at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 10 a night. One day's rest. Cleveland comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 128 a night and allowing 128, shooting 51 percent and 41 from three, 18 free throws a game; Mitchell at 31 and Garland at 21 a game. One day's rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Houston has been plus-10 a night and Cleveland minus-2 and the defense, Houston allowing 117 a night to Cleveland's 128. Call it Houston 122, Cleveland 118, Cleveland keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
DENBB B. Brown
CJ C. Johnson
HT H. Tyson
JM J. Murray
JP J. Pickett
JS J. Strawther
JV J. Valančiūnas
JO Jokic
NJ N. Jokić
SJ S. Jones
TH T. Hardaway Jr.
VA Valanciunas
ZN Z. Nnaji
HOUAH A. Holiday
AS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
JO J. Okogie
JS J. Smith Jr.
KD K. Durant
RS R. Sheppard
SA S. Adams
DEN/HOU the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Durant scores 31, Sheppard's 11-point flurry helps Rockets end Nuggets' 6-game win streak, 115-101
DENVER -- — Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Reed Sheppard scored the final 11 points of the third quarter to blow open a close game, and the Houston Rockets rolled past the Denver Nuggets 115-101 on Saturday.
Sheppard was 6 for 9 from long range and scored 28 points. His last bucket came on a steal and a slam after the Nuggets reserves had trimmed a 21-point deficit to 107-97 in the closing minutes.
The Rockets avenged a loss earlier in the week at Denver and snapped the Nuggets' six-game winning streak. Durant was 5 for 6 from 3-point range and Jabari Smith was 5 for 11 from long range for 22 points.
The Rockets shot 19 of 35 from long range (54%) to Denver’s 8 of 29 (27%).
Nikola Jokic led Denver with 25 points and Jamal Murray scored 16.
Denver coach Dave Adelman was ejected with 8:40 left in the game after arguing that Jokic should have gotten a whistle.
The Nuggets had pulled to within 71-66 with 1:29 left in the third quarter when Sheppard swished a pair of 3-pointers around a turnover by Murray. He sank two free throws and capped his run with another 3-pointer that gave the Rockets an 82-66 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Little went right for Denver, which was without star defender Peyton Watson (right trunk bruise) to guard Durant.
The rematch came three days after Rockets coach Ime Udoka was fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing the officiating in Houston’s 128-125 overtime loss to the Nuggets on Monday night.
He had little to complain about in this one, especially after Sheppard's 3s short-circuited Denver's comeback.
The Rockets took a 53-45 halftime lead after Josh Okogie hit a trio of 3-pointers, fueling an 11-0 run in the second quarter that helped Houston take control.
Up next Rockets: Visit the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.