The closest thing on the court to Nikola Jokic was wearing a Rockets uniform on Wednesday night at Ball Arena.

Denver’s maestro missed the game because of right elbow inflammation. The injury popped up during Jokic’s pregame shooting routine roughly 90 minutes before tipoff.

“It was just something that popped up last minute,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said.

“I haven’t talked to the training staff yet. I’ll have a conversation with (vice president of sports medicine) Steve Short and see where we’re at.”

Without Jokic and Aaron Gordon, who missed the game due to right calf injury management, the Nuggets struggled to establish an offensive rhythm and committed 20 turnovers against 22 assists. The Rockets turned Denver’s turnovers in 34 points. The Nuggets managed just eight points off Houston’s 11 turnovers.

“We talked about it pregame. That’s what they do. They’re an elite defense — No. 3 in defensive rating, and they’re top 10 in points off turnovers. They’re top 10 in fast-break points,” Malone said.

“When you’re without your starting power forward and center against a team that sits No. 2 in the Western Conference, you’ve got to play damn-near perfect. We were definitely far from that tonight.”

Rockets guard Jalen Green led all scorers with 34 points, while Houston’s 22-year-old center Alperen Sengun, who’s been dubbed “Baby Jokic,” finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.

“He has a lot of similar things,” Christian Braun said. “He’s tough, man. He hits a lot of tough shots. He has that push shot. I think in the first quarter, we did an OK job. He does a good job distributing the ball, too, so we did a good job of confusing him a little bit. He had some good passes, but then he got into a rhythm.”

Jamal Murray and Braun both scored 22 points for the Nuggets on efficient numbers. Russell Westbrook (17), Peyton Watson (10) and Julian Strawther (10) also scored in double figures for Denver.

Murray and Westbrook were each responsible for five of Denver’s turnovers. Murray acknowledged that Jokic’s absence changed the game plan on short notice against one of the league’s top defenses, but he didn’t shy away from owning his mistakes, either.

“The turnovers compiled,” Murray said. “When we turned it over, we weren’t resilient to the turnovers. It felt like today was just one thing after another, and we weren’t able to come back from it. … They played well tonight, so you’ve got to give them credit.”

The loss was Denver’s first this season on the second night of a back-to-back set. It was also Denver’s eighth home loss of the year, matching last year’s total. Malone didn’t have a feel whether or not Jokic would be available for Denver’s next game Friday against the Heat.

“We’ve got to get on that plane tomorrow morning and go play in Miami and find a way to, one, get healthy, and two, stop beating ourselves.”

ROCKETS 128, NUGGETS 108

What happened: Houston led by five after the first quarter and extended the lead to 69-48 at halftime. The Rockets maintained a 21-point lead after the third quarter, and Michael Malone pulled most of his rotation in the middle of the fourth quarter.

What went right: Christian Braun was almost perfect for the Nuggets. The first-year starter made all eight of his shots inside the arc and went 2 of 3 from 3-point range to match Jamal Murray for the team-high with 22 points. Braun also grabbed five rebounds in 35 minutes of playing time.

What went wrong: The Nuggets got off to a sloppy start without Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon. Denver committed eight turnovers in the first 12 minutes, leading to six Rockets points. Russell Westbrook committed four of the early turnovers.

Highlight of the night: Braun had an answer after Jalen Green dunked over Dario Saric late in the third quarter. Braun cut, caught a pass from Saric and dunked over Rockets wing Cam Whitmore. Unfortunately for Denver, Whitmore took advantage of a Nuggets turnover moments later and finished with an emphatic dunk in transition.

Up next: The Nuggets play their third game in four days on Friday in Miami.