HOUSTON (AP) — Michael Porter Jr. scored 19 points, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic added 18 each and the Denver Nuggets clinched the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference with a 126-111 win over the Houston Rockets on Sunday.

The victory gives the Nuggets homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs and puts them in the postseason for a seventh straight season.

The Nuggets were up by 13 at halftime and used a 10-2 run, with five points from Gordon, to make it 86-63 with about five minutes left in the third quarter.

The Rockets, who had nothing to play for having long since clinched the No. 2 seed, pulled their starters after that big run.

The Nuggets had extended the lead to 111-78 with about nine minutes left when they cleared their bench.

Jokic, who had already guaranteed averaging a triple-double for the season in Friday’s win over Memphis, had seven rebounds and seven assists Sunday. He joins teammate Russell Westbrook and Hall of Famer Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson as the only players to accomplish the feat.

Westbrook added 17 off the bench for the Nuggets, who won their third straight game under interim coach David Adelman. He took over after coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth were fired Tuesday after they Nuggets lost their fourth straight game two days earlier.

Amen Thompson and Fred VanVleet led the Rockets with 15 points apiece as they finished the regular season with a 52-30 record, marking their first winning season since 2019-20 when they made their last playoff appearance.

Key moment

The run in the third quarter that pushed the lead to 20.

Key stat

Houston’s Jalen Green started his 82nd game of the season, marking the second straight season starting every game.

Up next

Houston hosts the No. 7 seed in the first round of the playoffs, which begin April 19-20, and the Nuggets host the No. 5 seed Los Angeles Clippers.

Coyle has goal and 2 assists as Avalanche score 4 in 3rd period to beat Ducks 4-2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Charlie Coyle had a goal and two assists in Colorado's four-goal third period, and the Avalanche rallied to beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Sunday night.

Jack Drury had a goal and an assist, and Wyatt Aamodt and Erik Johnson also scored for Colorado, which trailed 2-0 midway through the third. Scott Wedgewood had 18 saves.

The Avalanche, locked into a first-round matchup with Dallas, rested several stars, including Nathan MacKinnon, Artturi Lehkonen, Cale Makar, Jonathan Drouin and Valeri Nichushkin

Mason McTavish and Sam Colangelo scored, and Lukas Dostal finished with 20 saves as the Ducks lost their second straight.

Aamodt, playing in his second NHL game, got his first goal when his shot from the right circle deflected off the skate of Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintukov and in with 9:55 remaining to get the Avalanche on the scoreboard.

Drury tied it 2-2 with a power-play goal with 5:26 remaining as he deflected Sam Malinski's shot from the slot.

Coyle beat Dostal from the right circle with 2:09 left to put Colorado ahead, and Johnson sealed it with an empty-netter in the final minute.

McTavish gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead with 1:08 left in the first for his 22nd of the season.

Colangelo doubled the lead at 7:35 of the second, just 1 second after a Ducks power play expired.

Takeaways

Avalanche: Colorado, locked into a first-round playoff matchup with Dallas, had lost three of its previous four.

Ducks: Anaheim, which will miss the playoffs for a seventh straight year, has lost four of its last six games.

Key moment

Ian Moore, selected by Anaheim in the third round of the 2020 draft, made his NHL debut after signing an entry-level contract with the Ducks on Saturday. He began the game paired with veteran defenseman Jacob Trouba, and had three shots on goal and 15:31 of ice time.

Key stat

Frank Vatrano had an assist on Colangelo's goal, giving him 23 on the season to tie the career high he set with the Ducks last season.

Up next

Avalanche will open the first round of the playoffs at Dallas in Game 1, and Ducks play at Minnesota on Tuesday to open season-ending two-game trip.

King throws 1st complete game as the Padres shut out the Rockies in 3rd straight game, 6-0

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Michael King threw a two-hitter for his first career complete game, and the San Diego Padres shut out the Colorado Rockies for the third straight game, winning 6-0 on Sunday.

It was the first time the Padres had shut out an opponent in a series of at least three games. They beat the Rockies 2-0 on a four-hitter on Saturday night and 8-0 on a three-hitter on Friday night.

Colorado, coming off consecutive seasons of at least 100 losses, dropped to a major league-worst 3-12, including a 1-8 record on the road.

It was the 34th time that a team had shut out its opponent for an entire series of three-plus games since 1901, and the first since Cleveland did it against Kansas City in August 2017.

The Padres improved to 10-0 at home. They have the best record in the majors at 13-3.

King (3-0) retired his first 13 batters before Michael Toglia singled with one out in the fifth. He walked Hunter Goodman with two outs in the eighth and allowed a single by Ezequiel Tovar with one out in the ninth.

King threw a major league-high 110 pitches in the majors' second complete game of the season. Nathan Eovaldi threw a four-hitter for Texas at Cincinnati on April 1.

San Diego jumped on Kyle Freeland (0-3) for four runs in the first inning. The Padres had three straight run-scoring hits with two outs — singles by Oscar Gonzalez and Yuli Gurriel, and a two-run double by Jose Iglesias.

Key moment

The Padres turned a 5-6-3 double play to finish King's complete game.

Key stat

Iglesias had his first game with multiple extra-base hits and RBIs since July 12 for the New York Mets against the Rockies.

Up next

Rockies right-hander Antonio Senzatela (0-2, 5.14 ERA) is scheduled to start Monday night in the opener of a three-game series at the Los Angeles Dodgers. Padres right-hander Dylan Cease is set to go Monday night in the opener of a three-game set against the Chicago Cubs.