Nuggets trounce Rockets by 20

Posted: October 28, 2015 -- 10:35 pm.

HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- The Houston Rockets did very little, if anything, correct Wednesday night in their home opener of the 2015-'16 NBA season. As a result of a listless, lifeless, woeful effort by the Rockets, the Rockets are 0-1 after getting blasted by the Denver Nuggets 105-85.

Despite 21 turnovers, the Nuggets never trailed in the game. Denver raced out to a 10-1 lead and never looked back.

Kevin McHale said, "We didn't play hard enough. We didn't play tough enough. We didn't play smart enough. We have a lot of work to do."

The Rockets shot 34.5% (30 for 87) from the floor in the game including a frigid 11 for 41 in the second half.

James Harden made just 6 of 21 field goals (2 for 12 from three-point range). Harden finished the second quarter making 3 of 4 shots, including the 2 made three point shots; but, Harden struggled the rest of the game.

"We just couldn’t get our shots to fall," Harden said after the game.

The Rockets trailed 53-49 at halftime; and, Patrick Beverley provided a spark in the third quarter with energy and offensive rebounds. However, the team failed to convert numerous opportunities into points; and, Denver finished the third period with an 11-2 run to lead 76-63 after 36 minutes.

"We weren’t knocking down shots," Harden added. "We had a spurt in that 3rd quarter where we were hustling; and, we couldn’t get any shots to fall. It takes a lot of energy out of you."

Pat Beverley said, "I don’t think it’s really about offense. I think it’s about us getting stops and us getting easy baskets. It was tough."

The Nuggets shot 50.9% (40-79) from the floor (13 for 27 from three). Denver's Danilo Gallinari scored a game-high 23 points and added 8 boards, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Nuggets' rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay finished the game with 17 points, 9 assists and 11 turnovers.

After the game, Mudiay said, "I’m just glad to get that one out of the way, my teammates were great and kept encouraging me throughout the whole game. It was a lot of fun. I want to cut down on my turnovers; but, my teammates were great."

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