Final
Houston Rockets at Dallas Mavericks
135 – 117
2026-27 · Preseason · Preseason
Game state source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 7:44 pm EDTHouston Rockets at Denver Nuggets
2025-26 · Regular season · All results that day · Houston Rockets vs Denver Nuggets head-to-head · Houston Rockets schedule · Denver Nuggets schedule
Final
Away
Houston Rockets
115
Home
Denver Nuggets
101
Venue: Ball Arena
Schedule source: whynba · Observed Oct 9, 2026, 06:29 UTC.
Game recap
The Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 115-101 on the road on Saturday, December 20, 2025 at Ball Arena. Kevin Durant had 31 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists for the Houston Rockets. Nikola Jokić had 25 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for the Denver Nuggets.
The Houston Rockets led 53-45 at halftime and pulled away after the break. Their best stretch was the second quarter, won 27-16. Double-digit figures in two or more categories: Bruce Brown (double-double, Denver Nuggets), Jabari Smith Jr. (double-double, Houston Rockets). Bench points: Houston Rockets 29, Denver Nuggets 37. Reed Sheppard had 28 points, 2 rebounds and 6 assists in support for the winners.
Written by the whynba data desk from the licensed final box score and period scores.
Score source: whynba · Retrieved Oct 9, 2026, 06:29:14 UTC. Source update time is unavailable.
Controls this game's status, scores and reported player statistics only. Other page sections may still update. Pausing lasts until you resume or reload.
Reported player statistics
this may be a partial box score. A dash means unavailable. Zero minutes alone does not establish a DNP designation.
| Player | Team | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | +/− | Retrieved (UTC) |
|---|
Quick answers
- Who won Houston Rockets vs Denver Nuggets?
- The Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 115-101 on December 20, 2025.
- Who led the scoring?
- Kevin Durant scored 31 for the Houston Rockets; Nikola Jokić scored 25 for the Denver Nuggets.
Match dossier
Inside the game
Box score
| Team | q1 | q2 | q3 | q4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Rockets | 26 | 27 | 29 | 33 | 115 |
| Denver Nuggets | 29 | 16 | 21 | 35 | 101 |
Game leaders
Houston Rockets
- Points
- 31 Kevin Durant
- Rebounds
- 12 Steven Adams
- Assists
- 6 Amen Thompson
Denver Nuggets
- Points
- 25 Nikola Jokić
- Rebounds
- 12 Bruce Brown
- Assists
- 7 Jamal Murray
Jabari Smith Jr. double-double (22 PTS, 10 REB) · Bruce Brown double-double (12 PTS, 12 REB)
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG | 3P | FT | PF | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Durant starter | 39:32 | 31 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8-14 | 5-6 | 10-11 | 2 | +18 |
| Jabari Smith Jr. starter | 38:29 | 22 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8-14 | 5-11 | 1-2 | 3 | +21 |
| Amen Thompson starter | 38:18 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7-14 | 0-2 | 2-4 | 2 | +19 |
| Alperen Sengun starter | 30:21 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4-9 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 3 | +24 |
| Josh Okogie starter | 28:38 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3-5 | 3-5 | 0-0 | 4 | +6 |
| Reed Sheppard bench | 30:00 | 28 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9-15 | 6-9 | 4-4 | 4 | +10 |
| Steven Adams bench | 25:14 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 1 | -10 |
| Aaron Holiday bench | 7:57 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | -12 |
| Jae'Sean Tate bench | 1:30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | -6 |
Not available: Dorian Finney-Smith, Fred VanVleet, Tari Eason
| Player | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO | FG | 3P | FT | PF | +/− |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jamal Murray starter | 34:35 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4-13 | 3-7 | 5-6 | 0 | -12 |
| Cameron Johnson starter | 31:53 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2-10 | 1-3 | 1-1 | 1 | -14 |
| Tim Hardaway Jr. starter | 29:54 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3-9 | 2-5 | 0-0 | 3 | -22 |
| Nikola Jokić starter | 29:08 | 25 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9-20 | 1-4 | 6-7 | 5 | -20 |
| Spencer Jones starter | 27:50 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4-8 | 1-5 | 0-0 | 2 | +1 |
| Bruce Brown bench | 27:44 | 12 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5-8 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 5 | -7 |
| Jalen Pickett bench | 22:22 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4-7 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 2 | +1 |
| Jonas Valančiūnas bench | 15:43 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5-10 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | -10 |
| Zeke Nnaji bench | 11:19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1 | -1 |
| Hunter Tyson bench | 4:46 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1 | +7 |
| Julian Strawther bench | 4:46 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0 | +7 |
Not available: Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon, Peyton Watson, Tamar Bates
| Houston Rockets | Stat | Denver Nuggets |
|---|---|---|
| 18/23 (78%) | Free throws | 19/23 (82%) |
| 20/42 (47%) | 2 pointers | 29/63 (46%) |
| 19/35 (54%) | 3 pointers | 8/29 (27%) |
| 39/77 (50%) | Field goals | 37/92 (40%) |
| 47 | Rebounds | 39 |
| 38 | Defensive rebounds | 29 |
| 9 | Offensive rebounds | 10 |
| 24 | Assists | 21 |
| 19 | Turnovers | 11 |
| 6 | Steals | 9 |
| 8 | Blocks | 2 |
| 20 | Fouls | 20 |
| 11 | Max points in a row | 11 |
| 38:59 | Time spent in lead | 5:53 |
| 21 | Biggest lead | 5 |
Largest margin: 19 points.
2025-26 season series
After this game: Denver Nuggets 2-1. Final series: Denver Nuggets 3-1.
- Nov 21: Denver Nuggets 112 at Houston Rockets 109
- Dec 15: Houston Rockets 125 at Denver Nuggets 128
- Dec 20: Houston Rockets 115 at Denver Nuggets 101 (this game)
- Mar 11: Houston Rockets 93 at Denver Nuggets 129
Highlights
Game statistics · retrieved Oct 9, 2026 02:29.
Tipoff and venue can change. Game times: Eastern Time.
Tipoff in UTC
Dec 20, 2025 · 22:00 UTC