Three Takeaways As Houston Rockets Take Tight Defeat Against Denver Nuggets

The Houston Rockets suffered from a tough 112-109 defeat against the Denver Nuggets in their NBA Cup matchup in the Toyota Center.

In the collision course of two of the top heavyweights in the Western Conference, the Rockets came up short against the visiting Nuggets, witnessing the end of their sizzling five-game win streak.

As a result, the victory allowed the Nuggets (2-1) to go above the West's Group C of the NBA Cup standings, as the Rockets dropped to 1-2.

Here are the main takeaways of the Rockets' tough Friday night loss at home against the Nuggets.

1. Crucial Late-Game Execute Failed The Rockets To Get It Done

The Rockets failed to go toe-to-toe against the Nuggets down the wire, as the road team went off for a 107-101 lead around 23 seconds left after Jamal Murray made a layup and his two foul shots.

The Nuggets' six-point margin at that timeframe was simply pivotal. If the Rockets were only able to nail buckets, the result could've gone differently.

Although Houston managed to keep it close thanks to Amen Thompson and Jabari Smith Jr.'s late triples, they didn't have enough time to either tie it or nail a last-second game-winner.

2. Rockets Struggled Offensively As A Team

The Rockets are parading the best offense in the NBA this season. But unfortunately, their firepower didn't click in this big-time game against the Nuggets.

Houston struggled offensively against Denver all night long. As the Nuggets' shots were falling efficiently behind Nikola Jokic's brilliance, the opposite can be observed for the Rockets team, which only shot 44 percent from the field.

Kevin Durant endured a rough night, finishing with a passive 13 points. He shot 5-14 from the field and only hit 1-5 from the three-point distance across 35 minutes. Meanwhile, Alperen Sengun was outplayed by Jokic in their gigantic center battle, as the Turkish star registered 14 points in 6-15 shooting.

3. Reed Sheppard Sizzles For His Best Game With The Rockets

If there's something that is simply promising about tonight's loss, that is definitely Reed Sheppard.

Sheppard had his best scoring game as a Rocket tonight, as the talented point guard tallied 27 points in 9-of-13 shooting (5-of-8 triples) and four assists to pace the team's losing effort over the Nuggets.

He instantly scored 20 points in the first half. If he didn't perform well, this loss against Denver could have been a wire-to-wire as early as the initial part of the game.

After a slow season start, it's good to see that Sheppard is finally becoming what most Rockets fans are strongly hoping for.