Tonight at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN the Houston Rockets (18-5) will head to the mountains and try to keep up with the Denver Nuggets (10-14) on their home floor at the Pepsi Center. Watch the game online for free by clicking this link; Rockets fans can hear the action on Sports Talk 790, while Nuggets fans may do likewise on KKFN 950.
After missing three weeks of action Rockets center Dwight Howard returned on December 13 against the Nuggets in a 12-point win in which Howard racked up 26 points and 13 rebounds.
"I didn't know what to expect," Howard said. "I just wanted to come there and give my teammates everything I had. I didn't play a perfect game, but I gave the hardest effort I could for my team."
In his absence shooting guard James Harden emerged as a potential MVP candidate, leading the offense with 26.3 points and 6.7 assists per game, both career-highs.
The return of Howard is bad news for Denver, who has struggled to guard strong offensive interior players. After Howard and Donatas Motiejunas tore them up the last time these teams met, Nuggets coach Brian Shaw bemoaned the team's lack of resistance down low.
"We got dominated by their big guys inside," Shaw said. "Howard and Motiejunas, we couldn't stop when they threw the ball in the post. They just backed us down and got whatever they wanted."
On the season Denver is allowing 104 points per game, the third-worst mark in the league. Their home court advantage makes a difference though. They're 6-5 at the Pepsi Center this season, and have scored 105.8 points per game at home while scoring just 99.9 on the road.
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