Denver was dealt an unexpected blow an hour before opening tip Wednesday when Nikola Jokic was ruled out due to right elbow inflammation.

Nikola Jokic was ruled out for the game with an elbow injury shortly before tip-off. In his postgame press conference Nuggets head coach Mike Malone said the three-time NBA MVP suffered the injury in warmups. He claimed it "popped up last minute." Malone had no word on how serious the injury could be as he hadn't spoken to trainers yet.

The Houston Rockets were in rebuilding mode a couple of seasons ago, and now it seems as if they're in contending mode. Houston has won four games in a row -- the last two over the Memphis Grizzlies -- and sits second overall in the Western Conference heading into its game at the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.