The Houston Rockets will host Denver on Sunday, looking to secure the season series and extend their two-game lead over the Nuggets for the second seed in the Western Conference.
While simultaneously welcoming back standout wing defender Amen Thompson from a six-game injury absence, the Rockets (46-25) received an outstanding offensive showing from veteran guard Fred VanVleet that propelled them to their ninth consecutive win on Friday.
VanVleet scored 37 points and drained a season-high nine 3-pointers to lead the Rockets to a 102-98 victory over the Miami Heat.
With 18 points, nine rebounds, five assists and a career-high seven steals, Thompson was equally brilliant in his first game action since suffering an ankle sprain on March 8 against the New Orleans Pelicans.
Noteworthy for Houston was VanVleet enjoying his first breakout effort in the six games since returning from a sprained ankle that forced him to miss 13 of the previous 14 games.
“Guys know it, of course,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “With him being the point guard, he has (the ball) in his hands and we’ll call sets to get him open. He knows, and he’ll call an advantage that he likes. And from there, he’s going to make the right decision, whether he’s scoring or assisting.”
The Rockets were quick to showcase VanVleet when it became evident that he had the hot hand.
“Our guys did a great job freeing Fred up, but when they doubled or the defense was a little slow in the rotation, he got it to the right guy for a play,” Udoka said. “Nothing needed to be said.
“He ran the right sets and everybody else was on the same page of getting him open and getting those looks.”
After carrying an eight-game winning streak into the All-Star break, the Nuggets (44-27) are just 8-8 since the season resumed. Denver lost for the third time in four games on Friday when it suffered a 128-109 setback against the Portland Trail Blazers. It was the third of a four-game road trip that concludes in Houston.
And while the Nuggets were without MVP frontrunner Nikola Jokic (ankle) for a third consecutive game, their issues against Portland were more closely linked to a lack of effort. The Trail Blazers shot 54 percent from the floor and produced 64 points in the paint. When Denver did make a stop defensively, the Trail Blazers turned 15 offensive rebounds into 26 second-chance points.
Toss in 21 turnovers that Portland converted into 25 points, and the ire that Nuggets coach Michael Malone expressed postgame becomes understandable.
Denver has just a one-game lead over the Memphis Grizzlies for the fourth seed and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Of greater concern is just 3 1/2 games separating the Nuggets from the seventh-place Los Angeles Clippers, who have been hot of late and currently hold a perilous position in the play-in tournament.
“I don’t know what our guys are thinking with 11 (games) to go,” Malone said. “And I challenge them to look at the standings, look at our remaining schedule and if we continue to play the way we’re playing, we will be in the play-in tournament. Very simple. Just the way it is.
“Each guy has got to look themselves in the mirror and start coming to each respective game with the proper mindset and have some pride.”
–Field Level Media
