Sunday, January 9th (All times eastern)

Houston Rockets (16-17) at Denver Nuggets (14-18), 9 p.m.

(Sports Network) - The Houston Rockets try to get back on track tonight when they visit the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.

Since a three-game winning streak, the Rockets have dropped consecutive contests to Phoenix and the LA Lakers. On Friday they suffered a 111-104 setback in Los Angeles, as Kobe Bryant posted game highs with 27 points and 10 assists to lead the Lakers.

Tracy McGrady netted 26 points for the Rockets. Before fouling out in the fourth quarter, Yao Ming tallied 25 points and five rebounds.

In the fourth quarter, Maurice Taylor drained a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 106-100 for Houston with 1:30 remaining. However, on the ensuing possession, Lamar Odom drilled a triple to seal the win for the Lakers.

The Rockets only turned the ball over six times, but allowed LA to shoot 54 percent from the field.

Houston, which has lost six of its last seven on the road, will visit Dallas on Wednesday.

Denver, meanwhile, has lost its last three games, including Saturday's 99-90 loss at San Antonio. Manu Ginobili scored 22 points and Tony Parker contributed 20 and handed out eight assists to pace the Spurs.

Kenyon Martin paced the Nuggets with 26 points. Andre Miller netted 16 points for Denver, which has lost nine of its last 10 games overall. Marcus Camby finished with 10 points and 15 boards in the loss. He returned to action after missing the previous two contests with a strained back.

Carmelo Anthony was limited to just eight points on 4-for-15 shooting. The second-year star had scored at least 20 points in the previous three games, but blamed Saturday's showing on a still troublesome left ankle. Anthony missed five games late last month with a sprained ankle.

The Spurs opened the fourth quarter with a 12-6 run, highlighted by Bowen's three-pointer, to stretch their lead to 84-74. Bowen would later drain two more shots from beyond the arc, with the latter giving San Antonio a commanding 95-82 advantage with 2:42 remaining.

The Nuggets, who have lost three of their last four at home, will visit Sacramento on Tuesday.

Denver defeated Houston, 82-76, on November 27, and has won three of the last four meetings.

01/09 10:20:55 ET