On Monday evening, the Denver Nuggets dropped to 5-4 on the young 2026 NBA season with a tough road loss to the Houston Rockets. This defeat was preceded by a win over the Indiana Pacers in Mexico City over the weekend.

Now, more information has come out about an interaction between the team and Jamal Murray following that game.

“The Nuggets offered their starters a chance to rest in Houston. Jamal Murray was the first to speak up in the text chain. Others followed his lead. He felt a sense of urgency, knowing Denver’s place in the standings. Travel woes? Not an excuse to sit out,” reported Bennett Durando of the Denver Post on X, formerly Twitter.

Unfortunately, Murray and his teammates' decision to suit up against the Rockets went for naught, as Denver was trailing for most of the game and wound up falling by a final score of 110-100. Murray certainly did his part in this one, scoring 38 points on 14-23 shooting from the field.

However, he and Nikola Jokic didn't get nearly enough help from their teammates in this one, with the other three starters combining for just 15 points in the loss.

The Nuggets now sit at 5-4 on the season and in 10th place in the vaunted Western Conference, which is looking like the much deeper conference of the two so far despite preseason predictions to the contrary.

Article Continues Below

While it's far too early to panic, concerns about the Nuggets' lack of athleticism and size around Jokic haven't exactly been eased so far this season.

The Nuggets will next hit the floor on Wednesday evening for a road game vs the Memphis Grizzlies.