The DeMarcus Cousins scored a season-high 31 points and 9 rebounds as the host Denver Nuggets beat the Houston Rockets 116-101 on Friday night.
Jeff Greene and Jaimichael Greene scored 14–14 points for Denver, playing without NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic (with non-COVID illness).
Aaron Gordon had 12 points, Bones Hyland and Will Barton 11 and Monte Morris scored 10 to help the Nuggets win for the 7th time in 8 games. Barton hit two 3-pointers to deliver 769 in his Denver career, surpassing JR Smith (768) for the franchise record.
Christian Wood had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Jalen Greene scored 18 for the Rockets, who took their 12th straight loss. Alpern Sengun finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, Eric Gordon also finished with 11 and J'Sean Tait with 10 points.
Barton scored a combined 0-for-14 from beyond the arc in the two games before Friday and then missed his first four 3-point attempts against Houston. He tied Smith with 3:31 in the third quarter and set the Denver record 44 seconds later.
The Rockets led 1 after the first quarter, but the Nuggets held a 51-36 lead on Jeff Green's 3-pointer with 3:10 left in the second quarter. Houston scored the last 10 points of the half and trailed only 51-46 at half time.
The Cousins scored Denver's first six points of the third quarter, and the Nuggets soon took a double-digit lead. Jalen Green sank a 3-pointer and Kevin Porter Jr. hit a jumper to pull the Rockets to within 62-55, with 7:09 left in the third, but Denver began to pull away.
Morris hit a step-back 15-foot, Aaron Gordon dunked, Jeff Greene converted two free throws and Barton added a basket to make it 74-59. Porter hit one from the deep but Barton responded with his two 3-pointers to start another Nuggets run to end the quarter, and they moved up to fourth, 87–70.
Houston's Kenyon Martin Jr. and Eric Gordon hit 3-pointers to reach within 13 and force a Denver timeout. Cousins made two free throws and a dunk, and Hyland pulled out a 3-pointer to extend the Nuggets' lead to 96-78 and the hosts closed it down.