James Harden, Clint Capela to Return Tuesday vs. Nuggets

James Harden and Clint Capela will both return to the Rockets’ starting lineup on Tuesday night, head coach Mike D’Antoni confirmed before Houston hosts the Nuggets at the Toyota Center.

Harden missed Houston’s loss to the Pelicans on Sunday due to a right toe sprain. The matchup in New Orleans marked Harden’s first missed game of 2019-20.

Capela missed the Rockets’ home win over the Nets on Saturday in addition to Sunday’s game at the Pelicans. Second-year center Isaiah Hartenstein shined without Capela in the lineup, tallying a combined 28 points and 22 rebounds in the pair of contests.

Houston was without both members of its starting backcourt on Sunday. Russell Westbrook joined Harden on the bench as he sat the second game of a back-to-back.

Harden returns to the floor as the NBA’s leading scorer at 38.3 points per game in 2019-20. He finished the Rockets’ November loss in Denver with 27 points on 16 shots as the Nuggets consistently trapped the two-time scoring champion.

The Nuggets were the first team this season to trap Harden throughout a game, spawning a slew of copycat schemes over the last six weeks. D’Antoni noted his relative surprise at the slew of double teams on Monday.

“I think it’s pretty radical to be honest with you,” D’Antoni said. “But if a guy is averaging about 40 points a game and he has nights of 50 and 60, I can see why they’d want to do it.”

Has Mike D’Antoni been surprised by the frequent traps of James Harden?

“I think it’s pretty radical to be honest with you. But if a guy is averaging about 40 points a game and he has nights of 50 and 60, I can see why they’d want to do it.” pic.twitter.com/eMlsOJq88a
— Michael Shapiro (@mshap2) December 31, 2019

Harden and the Rockets enter Sunday’s matchup fourth in the West at 22-11. Denver is 23-9 this season.

Tip-off from Houston on New Year’s Eve is slated for 7 p.m. CT.