Houston Rockets vs Denver Nuggets Prediction, 12/20/2025 Preview and Pick

Game: Houston Rockets vs Denver Nuggets

Date: Saturday, December 20, 2025

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: NBA TV

The Denver Nuggets (19-6) will try to defeat the Houston Rockets (16-7) at Ball Arena on Saturday.

The Rockets stepped onto the hardwood against the Nuggets and took a loss by a final of 128-125 in their last game. When talking about personal fouls, the Rockets ended up finishing with 25 while the Nuggets recorded 28 personal fouls. They converted 15 of their 34 attempts from beyond the arc. Denver finished the game shooting 81.8% at the free throw line by burying 27 of 33 shots. In addition, Denver grabbed 38 rebounds (7 offensive, 31 defensive) and had 8 blocks. Denver recorded 24 dimes and had 10 steals for this game. Pertaining to defending, Houston allowed 50.6% from the field on 43 out of 85 shooting. They also doled out 29 dimes in this matchup while creating 11 turnovers and having 7 steals. When talking about rebounding, they collected a total of 46 with 12 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Rockets converted 19 of their 26 shots for a rate of 73.1%. Houston walked away from the contest with a 50.5% FG percentage (47 out of 93) and knocked down 12 of their 25 shots from distance.

Alperen Sengun is a player who came through for this game. He racked up 33 points on 14 of 27 shooting. He saw the court for 42 minutes played and grabbed 10 rebounds. Sengun ended up going 51.9% from the floor and also dished out 10 assists.

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Houston heads into this game with a mark of 16-7 on the year. They have an average of 120.8 pts per game (4th in the league) while connecting on 48.7% from the field. The Rockets are shooting 39.9% on shots from distance (272 of 681) and 79.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Houston is pulling down 48.7 rebounds per game and has 587 dimes this year, which is 30th in basketball in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 16.1 times per contest and as a squad they commit 20.5 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end of the court, the Rockets are able to force 14.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 22.5 personal fouls. They are surrendering 34.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 3rd in basketball in points per game allowed (111.2). The Rockets defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 46.0% (930 of 2,023) and they relinquish 37.5 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They rank 1st in the NBA in giving up assists to the opposition with 559 surrendered so far this season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Nuggets got the win with a final of 128-125 against the Rockets. Concerning how they rebounded, Denver permitted Houston to pull down 46 in all (12 offensive). They finished the game shooting 48.0% from beyond the arc via 12 of 25 and ended up going 19 out of 26 from the free throw line (73.1%). The Nuggets allowed the Rockets to make 47 of 93 attempts from the field which had them shooting 50.5% in the matchup. When the final whistle was blown, the Nuggets finished shooting 43 out of 85 from the floor which had them shooting 50.6%. When discussing three-point attempts, Denver converted 15 of 34 attempts (44.1%). They were able to bury 27 of them for a percentage of 81.8%. The Rockets were called for 25 fouls for the matchup which got the Nuggets to the free throw line for a total of 33 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while getting 10 steals in the matchup. The Nuggets corralled 31 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 38 for this game.

Nikola Jokic was important for the Nuggets for the game. He buried 13 out of 27 in the matchup for a rate of 48.1%, and accounted for 15 rebounds. Jokic earned 39 points in his 42 minutes of playing time and had 10 dimes in the matchup.

Denver has a mark of 19-6 for the year. As an offense, the Nuggets are shooting 51.6% from the floor, which ranks 1st in the league. Denver has 3,140 points this year (125.6 per game) and they pull in 44.6 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 29.4 times per contest (4th in the NBA) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.4 times per game. The Nuggets are responsible for committing 19.6 fouls per game and they connect on 82.0% from the charity stripe.

The Nuggets defensively are ranked 15th in basketball in points given up per game with 116.2. They are able to force 12.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.6% from the field (13th in the league). The Denver defense gives up 34.2% on 3-point shots (325 of 949) and their opposition knocks down 78.8% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 26.6 assists and 40.7 boards per game, which has them ranked 14th and 3rd in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston

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