Five days later, Jokic was taken out of the game in early foul trouble, allowing the Rockets to overthrow a first-quarter Nuggets lead to take it themselves and create distance from Denver before the big fella was able to check back in for the fourth quarter. The three-time MVP scored 25 points, but never truly tightened the screws in the final frame. So there was no overcoming the Rockets\u2019 double-digit lead built with Jokic on the bench, which wound up in a 115-101 Rockets win.<\/p>\n
\u201c(It changes) everything, because he\u2019s got to play careful,\u201d David Adelman said about Jokic\u2019s foul trouble. \u201cHe can\u2019t be as aggressive in pick-and-roll defense. He\u2019s got to be careful with the offensive rebound. It changes the way somebody plays absolutely, and it\u2019s not like he\u2019s the only player that goes through that. He\u2019s such a focal point for us with our offense; we play through him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adelman earned a fourth-quarter ejection<\/a> with the foul call at 5-o in favor of the Rockets at that point in the period. It was after a no-call on a Jokic post-up with heavy contact. Adelman had already been assessed a technical foul in the game, getting him that hook. The Rockets weren\u2019t called for their first foul until there were seven minutes left in the second quarter.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt like a reactionary game earlier in the week. That\u2019s what it felt like to me,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cThey had one foul with five minutes to go in the second quarter. I felt like both teams were playing extremely hard, physical. I give the Rockets so much credit. They crash the glass every time. And then we get two somewhat soft fouls on our best player, which leads to him fouling twice. Those are fouls, and that leads to four fouls and he has to come out of the game. So honestly, I was confused, and so I was just looking for answers. I went out there to find them, and turns out I had to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n The Nuggets\u2019 six-game win streak was haulted and all their injuries seemed to have caught up with them. They shot just 40% from the field and 28% from three. They were again without Aaron Gordon, Christian Bruan and Peyton Watson while Tim Hardaway Jr. entered the starting lineup for Bruce Brown \u2014 who spent much of the game getting into with Rockets players. Brown scored 12 and Valanciunas had 12. The Nuggets\u2019 short bench of the last month, limited depth and reliance on Jokic and Murray was not a recipe for success against the strong Rockets, who took advantage of all the Jokic-less minutes.<\/p>\n \u201c19 to eight made threes was the game,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cI thought we competitively took on the game, but they were the better team tonight, just like I thought we were the better team the other night. So that\u2019s how it is, two really good teams. And I think anybody who wants to watch us play multiple times, so it\u2019s it\u2019s a fun matchup.\u201d<\/p>\n Spencer Jones had another strong game but future hall of Famer Kevin Durant finally solved the youngster, cooking for 31 points on 14 shots. While Sixth Man of the Year candidate Reed Sheppard turned around his rough shooting night earlier this week for 28 points off the bench on six triples.<\/p>\n \u201cIt really was like a playoff game, because we played so close together, even the game planning and all that stuff that you just did it,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cThe West is unbelievable, and the fact that the two teams you saw play today are not even close to the No. 1 seed right now just says everything about our conference.\u201d<\/p>\n When Sengun said earlier this week that \u2018someday he\u2019ll get the calls Jokic does,\u2019 he was foretelling his future a few days ahead as his team got those whistles. But he was speaking out of his behind. The Rockets\u2019 big man only had eight points in the game, a far cry from Joker\u2019s MVP play. Sengun will have a lot more work to do between now and that far-off someday to be considered in Jokic\u2019s class.<\/p>\n To add salt into the officiating wound, Udoka wasn\u2019t ejected last game despite charging the court, whereas Adelman was a few days later for his talk. Udoka was fined for his comments; we\u2019ll see if Adelman gets one as well.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes confusion can lead to destructive things, right?\u201d Adelman said. \u201cYou have to think things through yourself. Sometimes you go to other people, and sometimes they just don\u2019t want to hear you\u2026 They did the best they could. Just felt confused with the flow of the game. I got to be better than that, too. That game wasn\u2019t over. I let the emotions get the best of me. But when you care about your players, and you feel a certain way. Sometimes you react.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s next for the Nuggets?<\/p>\n The Nuggets\u2019 four-game homestand wraps up on Monday against the struggling Utah Jazz. The team then travels to the subpar Mavericks for a back-to-back on national TV on Tuesday ahead of their primetime Christmas night game against Minnesota on Thursday.<\/p>\n
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