The Denver Nuggets were blown out by the Houston Rockets Wednesday night but that wasn't the worst news from the evening. Nikola Jokic was ruled out for the game with an elbow injury shortly before tip-off.

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

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.