HOUSTON (Interstat) — Kevin Durant had 23 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, and Alperen Sengun added 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 110-100 on Monday at Toyota Center. Houston snapped a two-game skid and improved to 8-3. Denver fell to 5-4. The announced attendance was 18,055. The Rockets led for much of the game but had to withstand a late Denver push.

Houston had opened the season 7-1 before losses to Minnesota and Phoenix. Durant, Houston’s top star, had 21 points in each of those two defeats. Denver arrived after a win at Indiana in its previous game and looked to keep pace in the early season. The Nuggets leaned on Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, while Houston got early production from Durant, Sengun and its bench. Durant opened Houston’s scoring with a 24-foot 3-pointer after Murray’s two free throws, then added a 16-foot pullup. Amen Thompson hit an 8-foot turnaround, VanVleet made a 13-foot step-back, and Durant scored on a 9-foot shot and a driving dunk. Sengun hit a 25-foot 3-pointer, Marcus Smart made a 23-foot 3-pointer, and VanVleet added a 26-foot 3-pointer. Tari Eason made a 23-foot running jumper and a 25-foot 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Reed Sheppard made a 12-foot shot, Bogdanovic hit a 23-foot 3-pointer, and Eason converted a layup and a dunk. Murray kept Denver close with 3-pointers in the first half, and Jokic scored on a 9-foot floater and a 1-foot dunk.

The most important part of the game came in the fourth quarter. In the early fourth, Murray hit a 24-foot step-back 3-pointer, Bogdanovic made a 25-foot 3, and Bagley scored on a tip-in dunk and a layup to keep Denver close. Sheppard made a 30-foot 3-pointer and Sengun dunked to help Houston maintain separation. Denver’s Jamal Murray made two free throws to cut the lead to six points with about five minutes left. But Christian Braun missed a pair of free throws after that, and Houston got baskets from Sengun and Amen Thompson to push the lead to 100-90 with four minutes remaining. Sengun scored inside at 4:14, and Thompson followed with a layup at 3:56. Denver’s Nikola Jokic answered with a jumper, but Jabari Smith hit a 23-foot 3-pointer with 3:20 left to make it 103-92. Murray kept Denver alive with an 18-foot step-back jumper, and Jokic made two free throws to pull the Nuggets within 103-96. VanVleet then made a 27-foot 3-pointer with 2:06 remaining, and Jokic scored a driving layup. Sengun answered with a 14-foot two-point shot, and Durant made two free throws with 32.5 seconds left to put Houston ahead 110-98. Bryce Hopkins scored the final basket for Denver.

Jokic powered Denver with 25 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists and two blocks in 39 minutes. Durant, Houston’s top star, finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists and one block in 36 minutes. Murray scored a game-high 38 points for Denver to go with two rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 39 minutes. Sengun had 20 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and one block in 35 minutes. Eason added 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and one block in 19 minutes. Thompson had eight points, nine rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes. Smith contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 38 minutes. DeMar DeRozan scored seven points with four rebounds and two assists in 19 minutes. Marvin Bagley had six points, three rebounds and one block in 12 minutes. Braun finished with four points, five rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes.

Denver shot 37 of 83 from the floor, 8 of 29 from 3-point range and 18 of 25 from the free throw line. Houston shot 41 of 91 from the floor, 14 of 38 from 3-point range and 14 of 17 from the free throw line. Houston held a 15-7 edge in offensive rebounds. Denver had seven assists to Houston’s five. Denver blocked six shots, and Houston blocked three. Both teams committed 10 turnovers. Denver committed 18 fouls, and Houston committed 21. Denver scored 100 points from 98 possessions, an offensive rating of 102.2. Houston scored 110 points from 94 possessions, an offensive rating of 116.9.

Houston’s win came after the Rockets had lost to Minnesota and Phoenix following a 7-1 start. Denver had won at Indiana in its previous game after a home loss to Portland. Denver’s record moved to 5-4, while Houston moved to 8-3. The Rockets used balanced scoring and a decisive fourth-quarter response to close out the Nuggets. Houston got key minutes from Eason off the bench and a strong two-way performance from Durant. Denver got a big scoring game from Murray and another all-around effort from Jokic but could not complete the comeback after cutting the deficit to six. The Nuggets missed free throws at a critical moment, and Houston converted with inside baskets from Sengun and Thompson. The Rockets also made timely 3-pointers from Smith and VanVleet in the final minutes. Houston’s defense held Denver without a field goal for a key stretch late in the fourth quarter. Denver’s last basket came from Hopkins with 17.9 seconds remaining. Houston made its final free throws and Denver could not close the gap.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Houston 111, Denver 110. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Houston with a 69.1 percent probability to win. Houston had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -4.5. The total score of 210 went over the over/under line of 223.5.