NBA: Nuggets get stars back, club Rockets

Nikola Jokic recorded his seventh triple-double of the season and Michael Porter Jr. scored a season-high 30 points as the Denver Nuggets never trailed in a 134-124 win over the visiting Houston Rockets on Wednesday.

Jokic had 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds after being sidelined for one game due to low back pain. Jamal Murray returned after missing 11 games with a strained right hamstring and scored 16 points in 22 minutes.

Reggie Jackson had 14 points, Christian Braun and Justin Holiday added 11 apiece and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 10 for Denver, which won its third straight game overall and improved to 9-0 at home this season. Porter added 10 rebounds and five assists.

Jalen Green led Houston with 26 points and nine assists. Alperen Sengun scored 22 points, Jabari Smith Jr. had 15, Jeff Green added 12 and Dillon Brooks had 11.

Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the Rockets trailed by as many as 19 and remained winless in seven road games this season.

Houston battled back from an early deficit and trailed by 11 to start the fourth quarter but never threatened the rest of the way. Braun's 3-pointer with 6:42 remaining put the Nuggets ahead by 17, and Houston rested its starters in the final minutes.

Denver raced to a 19-point lead and held a 41-26 advantage at the end of the first quarter after shooting 7-for-10 from 3-point range. The 41 points are the most allowed by Houston in an opening quarter this season.

Houston used a 10-0 run early in the second quarter to pull within 44-36 before Denver quickly regained control. Porter made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points in the first half for the Nuggets, who led 76-59 at the break.

Porter was 8-for-10 from the field and 6-for-7 from beyond the arc in the half, while Jokic added 17 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds.

Houston cut into the Nuggets' lead in the third quarter behind Jalen Green, who made four 3-pointers and scored 19 points in the period. The Rockets trailed 108-97 entering the fourth after shooting 77.8 percent from the field in the third. — Field Level Media/Reuters