The Denver Nuggets opened their Las Vegas Summer League schedule with a 97-86 loss to the Houston Rockets on Friday night, per NBA.com, a game that was tied 20-20 after one quarter and within a point late in the third before Houston pulled away for good.
The decisive stretch came early in the fourth, when the Rockets opened the period on a 17-7 run over the first 5:36. The underlying problem was ball security: Houston’s defense forced 22 Denver turnovers and held the Nuggets under 20 points in both the second and fourth quarters. Rockets rookie Bruce Thornton, the No. 31 pick, led all scorers with 27 points.
The encouraging part of the night belonged to Bryce Hopkins. The second of Denver’s two 2026 second-round picks paced the team with 24 points, adding four rebounds, three steals and two blocks, and his ability to get to his spots was the steadiest thing in Denver’s halfcourt offense all night. KJ Simpson ran the show capably with 17 points and nine assists, and fellow second-rounder Trevon Brazile struggled with his shot at 2-for-8 but pulled down 11 rebounds. The shot creation was real; the possessions given away around it were what turned a competitive game into a double-digit loss.
For a team whose offseason questions center on second-unit scoring behind the core, Hopkins and Simpson producing on night one is the point of the exercise. Denver is back on the floor Saturday against the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7:30 p.m. ET.
For fantasy purposes, this game is a dynasty-league watchlist item rather than actionable news. Hopkins is fighting for rotation minutes on a roster with an established core, so his 24 points matter mostly as evidence he can score at this level; he is a stash candidate in deep dynasty formats only. Simpson’s nine assists reinforce that he is next in line for backup point guard minutes in Denver, a role with modest but real streaming value if injuries hit the guard rotation during the season.
