Mike Malone, head coach of the Denver Nuggets, enjoys the NBA’s In-Season Tournament. But, as the head coach of a team that was 1-3 on their current road trip, Malone said that his first priority was to bring his team back to playing “Nuggets basketball.”

However, the Houston Rockets defeated the Nuggets 105-86 on Friday night inside the Toyota Center, sending them back to Denver with their fourth loss of the road trip.

Jalen Green ended with 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and 3-of-8 from outside the arc after posting a season-high 34 points in their previous game against the Memphis Grizzlies. With 21 points (8-of-18 FG), 14 rebounds, and eight assists, Alperen engün led the Rockets in scoring.

The Rockets got off to a poor start as Nikola Joki scored two early baskets to put the Nuggets up 5-0. With 10:49 remaining in the first, Fred VanVleet scored Houston’s first points with a triple. A few plays later, Green’s 3-point field goal knotted the score at five.

The Nuggets and Rockets battled until Aaron Holiday scored on a driving layup to give Houston a 21-19 lead with 2:37 remaining in the first quarter. Holiday’s basket gave the Rockets an early lead that they would not surrender on their way to a 13-0 run. He ended the game with seven points.

Jokic had his finest game of the season. He finished with 38 points (14-31 FG), 19 rebounds, and eight assists.