March 10, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Kevin Durant (7) reacts after the second quarter of the game against the Toronto Raptors at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images The Denver Nuggets have waited nearly four months to have their starting lineup intact again, and now the task is to return to the team’s early-season success.
Denver got off to an 8-2 start with its Opening Day lineup, but lost its first two games since reuniting last week. The Nuggets will look to improve to their ninth win and halt a two-game decline when they take on the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
Denver’s injury problems began last November when Christian Brown and Aaron Gordon went down, and a month later Cameron Johnson and Nikola Jokic each suffered knee injuries. At one point, all five starting pitchers were out.
Gordon’s hamstrings have been an issue all season. He missed 40 games. And he wasn’t afraid to play hard.
“I have to do my best, but I play without any worries,” said Gordon, who is averaging 17.3 points in 25 games. “If you’re worried about injuries out there, that’s usually what happens. So I feel good. I feel good. Now all I have to get back to is the timing and speed of the game, but I feel good.”
The Nuggets’ recent struggles (six losses in their last 10 games) have dropped the team to sixth place in the Western Conference. But they are currently 1 1/2 games behind third-seeded Houston, and a win Wednesday would cut that to half a game.
Jokic leads Denver in scoring average (28.9), and his rebounding (12.5) and assist (10.3) averages lead the NBA. Jamal Murray is averaging 25.4 points per game, a career high.
The Rockets have alternated wins and losses in their last six games, including a 113-99 home win over Toronto on Tuesday night. Wednesday night’s game will conclude the four-game series between Houston and the Nuggets, with the Rockets having a chance to even the series as they play on the second night of a back-to-back set.
Houston won the most recent matchup, 115-101 on Dec. 20 in Denver after being 31 points behind Kevin Durant, who is still a high-scoring team at age 37. He came into Houston on Tuesday night and scored 29 points against the Raptors, averaging 26.1 points per game.
The Rockets allowed a season-high 145 points in Sunday night’s loss to San Antonio, 36 more than they allowed on average. Houston coach Ime Udoka said his team needs to develop stronger mentality for the playoffs.
“We have the talent, no doubt about it,” he said. “Identity, mentality, toughness, dogs, all of that is lacking right now. We’ll see if we can get it back by the end of the season.”
The loss to the Spurs may have been an outlier, but players like Durant understand the need for commitment on defense, especially in the playoffs.
“It’s tough. That’s the NBA,” he said. “We can definitely do a better job individually, one-on-one and just stay in front of the ball, but they are a tough team to defend.”
–Field level media
