Despite Nikola Jokic's brilliance, the Nuggets fell short in a 127–130 defeat vs. Bulls that snapped their seven-game winning streak.

Nikola Jokic had 34 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and Jamal Murray added 26 points and 10 assists as the Nuggets held on to beat the Houston Rockets 112-109 on Friday night.

Nuggets star and key piece Aaron Gordon will be out for at least a month, as he deals with a hamstring strain.

After beating the Miami Heat on Wednesday, Nikola Jokic once again displayed his dominance on Friday night against the Golden State Warriors. With Jokic’s near triple-double, Denver crushed the Warriors 129-104 at Ball Arena in the NBA Cup Opener.

Overall, Denver’s offense is elite, its defense is improved and its all-important second star is hooping. Forget Jamal Murray’s scoring — he has 17 assists and two turnovers in the last two games. That’s a microcosm of how crisp the Nuggets have been as a team.

The Denver Nuggets are bracing for the possibility of bad news regarding the injury Aaron Gordon sustained against the Houston Rockets.