Kevin Durant, Rockets surge ahead, hold off Nuggets

Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Reed Sheppard went 6-for-9 on 3-pointers on his way to 28 points and the visiting Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 115-101 on Saturday.

Jabari Smith Jr. had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Amen Thompson contributed 16 points and Steven Adams pulled down 12 rebounds for Houston, which tied a season-high with 19 3-pointers to end a four-game road losing streak.

Nikola Jokic scored 25 points, Jamal Murray finished with 16, Bruce Brown had 12 points and 12 rebounds and Jonas Valanciunas and Jalen Pickett had 10 points each for Denver, which had its six-game winning streak snapped. The Nuggets, who have won 11 straight on the road, have dropped five of their last seven at home.

Jokic picked up two fouls in the first quarter, and the Rockets took advantage of his absence to start the second quarter to take control of the game.

Houston outscored the Nuggets 27-16 to take a 53-45 lead at halftime. Jokic was whistled for his fourth foul with 7:18 left in the third quarter.

Denver made a push with Jokic on the bench, using a 9-2 run that made their deficit 69-64.

The Rockets answered behind the hot shooting of Sheppard. He followed two free throws by Pickett with a trio of 3-pointers and two free throws during a personal 11-0 run to close out the final 1:15 of the period to make it 82-68 heading into the fourth.

Houston stayed in control and went ahead 89-72 on two free throws by Durant with 8:53 remaining in regulation. Things then got heated for Nuggets head coach David Adelman. He drew his second technical complaining about a non-call on Jokic as he was bodied by Adams on a drive into the lane.

Adelman, in his first full season as the head coach, was ejected for the first time and assistant Jared Dudley took over in his place.

Denver surged again to get within 93-81 on a four-point play from Murray, but Durant and Smith hit 3-pointers and Thompson's steal and fast-break dunk made it 107-86. The Nuggets scored 11 straight points, but Sheppard's steal and layup basically sealed it with two minutes remaining in regulation.

--Field Level Media