Houston Rockets Swept By Nuggets In Season Series

B-. Houston Rockets. DWIGHT HOWARD. B. Who said Howard is no longer an eitile center in the league anymore? After his dominating performance against Roy Hibbert last game, the first half was another effective night for Superman. The Nuggets never found an answer to slow the eight-time all-star down. Loved how the Rockets fed Howard the ball with the advantages he had in the low post. Not only did Howard dominate offensively, but on the boards as well. Unfortunately, his dominating performance was a no show in the second half. 13 points and 8 rebounds.

Replacing Capela in the starting lineup is not an impossible task, but once again it was another ineffective night for Jones. If anyone wants to guess who my most disappointing Rocket so far this season is, look no further than Jones. And once again, He left the game midway in the second quarter due to an injury to his right eye. He finished with 0 points, and 2 rebounds.. PF. Houston Rockets. TERRENCE JONES. F

C-. Mr. reliable had a solid game in the mile-high city tonight. After he scored the first three points of the game, Ariza’s play was irrelevant for Houston. However in the fourth, Ariza played his best. During Houston’s late game push, Ariza scored seven of his 16 points in the fourth. Unfortunately, Ariza waited a little too late. He Finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds.. SF. Houston Rockets. TREVOR ARIZA

SG. Houston Rockets. JAMES HARDEN. C.  In the last five games Harden has played some of his best basketball of the season. So it was surprising to see the slow start he got off to in this game. Although he had a great night shooting 62 percent from 3-point land,  it seemed like Harden could not score anywhere else on the court. After a rare trip to the free-throw line where he missed both attempts, it was clear Harden would struggle in tonight’s game: 24 points, 6 assists.

Houston Rockets. PATRICK BEVERLEY. A-. It was a productive night for Beverley, and by far one of his best games of the season. He played with high intensity all throughout the game with a season high in both points and assists: 14 points, 8 assists.. PG

Houston Rockets. DONATAS MOTIEJUNAS. A. Although Jones was Capela’s replacment, Motiejunas was the Rockets’ best player this game. For the first time all season, DeMo was able to showcase the improvements he has made to his game since the summer. His three-point shot looks amazing, and has also added a solid hookshot to his game which will make him more versatile on the offensive end for Houston. He finished with 19 points, 7-11 FG.  . PF-C

B+. With the few all-star caliber players the Nuggets have on their team, why do the Rockets struggle to slow down this guy. He is not even that good of a player. However, Barton is averaging his highest point per game versus Houston this season. Okay, he may have shot over 50 percent for the game, but most of his points came from dunks and layups. 23 points, 9 rebounds. SF. Denver Nuggets. WILL BARTON