DENVER -- James Harden had 20 points and seven assists, Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson scored 18 each, and the Houston Rockets never trailed in beating the Denver Nuggets 128-110 on Friday night.

Houston's Trevor Ariza had 16 points and seven rebounds before leaving after falling in front of the scorer's table with 4:03 left. He appeared to reach for his back and after a few minutes stood up and walked to the locker room.

Seven Houston players scored in double figures.

Wilson Chandler led Denver with 24 points, Kenneth Faried had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Will Barton returned from missing three games to score 17.

The Nuggets (7-12) have lost four of their last five.

The Rockets (13-7) were coming off a thrilling 132-127 double overtime win in Golden State on Thursday night and didn't arrive at their hotel until 5 a.m. local time.

The quick turnaround didn't seem to bother them. They started hot and finished shooting 50.6 percent from the field and a blistering 45.9 from 3-point range.

Their accuracy from behind the line helped them build a double-digit lead early and keep Denver from ever getting close.

The Rockets led by as much as 15 in the first quarter when they scored a season-high 42 points.

Things didn't slow down in the second quarter. They outscored the Nuggets 31-30 to set a season high for points in a half with 73. They did it without a big contribution from Harden, who was 3 of 10 from the floor.

Gordon, who hit big shots in Thursday's win, capped the record first half by driving the length of the court for a buzzer-beating layup to put Houston up 10.

They built a 16-point lead late in the third on Ariza's fourth 3-pointer and came within a missed free throw of hitting the 100-point barrier before the fourth.

Sam Dekker's dunk and Gordon's 3-pointer, his fourth, gave Houston a 20-point lead. Denver never got the deficit below 16 the rest of the way.

NOTES: Rockets C Nene, a former Denver Nugget, was out for the second straight game because of sore knees. Coach Mike D'Antoni said the team is being cautious with him and it's not a specific injury. He characterized it as maintenance as opposed to an injury. ... Nuggets F Nikola Jokic was out with a sore wrist. Coach Michael Malone said Jokic's wrist was swollen and called him day to day, although there is no clear timetable for his return. ... Houston's win over Golden State on Thursday was its first double-overtime victory since Nov. 11, 2013 against Toronto. ... The Nuggets didn't hold a morning shootaround despite not having played Thursday. Malone didn't give a reason why, but said it won't become policy.