The Houston Rockets (2-2) tried to come from behind late in the game, but ultimately fell short to the Denver Nuggets (2-3) 93-87 Wednesday at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
After starting red-hot in his first two games, James Harden had a fairly ordinary night, having an off-night with 5-of-15 shooting for 15 points. Meanwhile, Jeremy Lin had a dismal 2-for-9 night, finishing with 6 points and 6 assists. Rockets power forward Patrick Patterson scored 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
Harden cut Denver's lead to five with a layup with just less than four minutes remaining. But Nuggets forward Danilo Gallinari tipped in a missed free throw before a dunk by Kenneth Faried kept the Nuggets ahead, 89-80.
In a clutch moment of the night, Lin, sporting a bloody nose after a foul, plugged his nose with paper and put the Rockets within four points, 91-87, on a pair of free throws with 1:21 remaining.
But a dunk by Faried moments later was delivered the knockout blow from Denver. Faried had a big night for the Nuggets with 16 points and 16 rebounds.
"I just felt the whole game that Kenneth had the spirit that he was going to win this game tonight," Denver coach George Karl told the Associated Press. "He was pretty incredible."
The Rockets had their chances, but giving up 20 turnovers did not help their cause. Jonathan Feigan of the Houston Chronicle noted that the Rockets defense was particularly problematic Wednesday, referring to Houston's defenders as leaking layups "from start to finish."
Matt Miller of NBA.com wrote that Houston, who shot 31 of 84 from the field Wednesday, continues to struggle from the field, particularly from the arc. The Rockets "continue to be convinced that they are a good 3-point shooting team that can work its way out of the perceived funk," he wrote, but with dismal 8 of 33 shooting from three-point range, it was "further proof that [Houston] needs to look for more scoring inside of 25 feet."
"Right now we're in a little bit of a funk," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "The game right now feels hard ... it doesn't feel like it's rolling and flowing, and we've got to get rolling and flowing, and then good things will happen."
Harden implied to the Associated Press that the team's struggles are a result of learning to adjust, particularly with his addition to the team as a focal point of the offense.
"As the games go on, we'll get better," he said. "We haven't played together. We didn't have a training camp or have time to really put in some sets, so we're kind of just figuring things out as we go."
The Rockets look to rebound when they head to Memphis Friday to play Zach Randolph and the Memphis Grizzlies. For more information, visit the NBA's Houston Rockets web site.
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