Nuggets defeat Rockets to earn No. 4 seed

Field Level Media|published: Sun 13th April, 18:28 2025

Apr 13, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) reaches for an offensive rebound against Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) in the second quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

Michael Porter Jr. scored 19 points, Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon finished with 18 apiece, and the visiting Denver Nuggets clinched the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference with a 126-111 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

Denver (50-32) won its final three games to earn home-court advantage in the first round. The Nuggets will face the No. 5 seed, which has yet to be determined, in the first round.

Jokic, who had seven rebounds and seven assists, is the third player to average a triple-double for an entire season. His 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists ranked in the top three in the NBA in those categories.

Houston (52-30) dropped its final three games after securing the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. The Rockets will face the winner of a play-in survivor still to be determined.

Russell Westbrook had 17 points, Jamal Murray contributed 16 points and Christian Braun finished with 11 for Denver.

Fred VanVleet and Amen Thompson scored 15 points, Alperen Sengun finished with 14 points and Jock Landale had 11 points and Cam Whitmore added 10 points for Houston.

The Nuggets used a 12-2 run in the final 2:18 of the period to lead 36-23, the Rockets cut the deficit to eight on a dunk by Thompson with 3:42 left in the second but Denver closed strong.

Gordon made two free throws, Porter drained a pair of 3-pointers and Murray finished the half with two free throws to give the Nuggets a 65-52 lead at intermission.

After Brooks hit from deep early in the third quarter, Denver dominated the rest of the period. Murray and Porter each hit a 3-pointer and a layup that made it 76-58, Van Vleet made a running 3-pointer to make it a 15-point game but the Nuggets pulled away.

Gordon made two free throws and finished an alley-oop from Jokic, Braun completed a three-point play off a turnover and Porter finished off his 11-point quarter with two buckets that made it 93-65.

Peyton Watson hit a corner 3-pointer at the horn to give Denver a 102-71 lead heading into the fourth.

The lead grew to as many as 36 in the final 12 minutes.

--Field Level Media