DENVER — Walk up to the giant, but even-keeled Jonas Valanciunas and ask him how he’s doing, he’ll say, “I complain, nobody listens.”
That’s not a relatable statement for Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka or their star Alperen Sengun, who got on the microphone and fussed after losing an overtime game on Monday night, in which both Denver Nuggets center Valanciunas and Nikola Jokic fouled out. Udoka was upset with a few late-game calls, and Sengun shared that he hopes to one day get the calls Joker does. To their credit, the NBA’s postgame report detailed that three key calls went against the Rockets late on Monday, but nowhere in there was an acknowledgment of the Rockets blown chance without the Nuggets centers.
Five days later, Jokic was taken out of the game in early foul trouble, allowing the Rockets to overthrow a first-quarter Nuggets lead to take it themselves and create distance from Denver before the big fella was able to check back in for the fourth quarter. The three-time MVP scored 25 points, but never truly tightened the screws in the final frame. So there was no overcoming the Rockets’ double-digit lead built with Jokic on the bench, which wound up in a 115-101 Rockets win.
“(It changes) everything, because he’s got to play careful,” David Adelman said about Jokic’s foul trouble. “He can’t be as aggressive in pick-and-roll defense. He’s got to be careful with the offensive rebound. It changes the way somebody plays absolutely, and it’s not like he’s the only player that goes through that. He’s such a focal point for us with our offense; we play through him.”
Adelman earned a fourth-quarter ejection with the foul call at 5-o in favor of the Rockets at that point in the period. It was after a no-call on a Jokic post-up with heavy contact. Adelman had already been assessed a technical foul in the game, getting him that hook. The Rockets weren’t called for their first foul until there were seven minutes left in the second quarter.
“It felt like a reactionary game earlier in the week. That’s what it felt like to me,” Adelman said. “They had one foul with five minutes to go in the second quarter. I felt like both teams were playing extremely hard, physical. I give the Rockets so much credit. They crash the glass every time. And then we get two somewhat soft fouls on our best player, which leads to him fouling twice. Those are fouls, and that leads to four fouls and he has to come out of the game. So honestly, I was confused, and so I was just looking for answers. I went out there to find them, and turns out I had to leave.”
The Nuggets’ six-game win streak was haulted and all their injuries seemed to have caught up with them. They shot just 40% from the field and 28% from three. They were again without Aaron Gordon, Christian Bruan and Peyton Watson while Tim Hardaway Jr. entered the starting lineup for Bruce Brown — who spent much of the game getting into with Rockets players. Brown scored 12 and Valanciunas had 12. The Nuggets’ short bench of the last month, limited depth and reliance on Jokic and Murray was not a recipe for success against the strong Rockets, who took advantage of all the Jokic-less minutes.
“19 to eight made threes was the game,” Adelman said. “I thought we competitively took on the game, but they were the better team tonight, just like I thought we were the better team the other night. So that’s how it is, two really good teams. And I think anybody who wants to watch us play multiple times, so it’s it’s a fun matchup.”
Spencer Jones had another strong game but future hall of Famer Kevin Durant finally solved the youngster, cooking for 31 points on 14 shots. While Sixth Man of the Year candidate Reed Sheppard turned around his rough shooting night earlier this week for 28 points off the bench on six triples.
“It really was like a playoff game, because we played so close together, even the game planning and all that stuff that you just did it,” Adelman said. “The West is unbelievable, and the fact that the two teams you saw play today are not even close to the No. 1 seed right now just says everything about our conference.”
When Sengun said earlier this week that ‘someday he’ll get the calls Jokic does,’ he was foretelling his future a few days ahead as his team got those whistles. But he was speaking out of his behind. The Rockets’ big man only had eight points in the game, a far cry from Joker’s MVP play. Sengun will have a lot more work to do between now and that far-off someday to be considered in Jokic’s class.
To add salt into the officiating wound, Udoka wasn’t ejected last game despite charging the court, whereas Adelman was a few days later for his talk. Udoka was fined for his comments; we’ll see if Adelman gets one as well.
“Sometimes confusion can lead to destructive things, right?” Adelman said. “You have to think things through yourself. Sometimes you go to other people, and sometimes they just don’t want to hear you… They did the best they could. Just felt confused with the flow of the game. I got to be better than that, too. That game wasn’t over. I let the emotions get the best of me. But when you care about your players, and you feel a certain way. Sometimes you react.”
What’s next for the Nuggets?
The Nuggets’ four-game homestand wraps up on Monday against the struggling Utah Jazz. The team then travels to the subpar Mavericks for a back-to-back on national TV on Tuesday ahead of their primetime Christmas night game against Minnesota on Thursday.
