had 11 rebounds and made 13 of 14 free throws to help the Nuggets fend off the Rockets with his eighth game of 30 or more points this season.Nene added 16 points and 11 rebounds and Arron Afflalo scored 15 points for Denver.
Houston was led by Luis Scola with 24 points. Kyle Lowry had 21 points and Brad Miller had 11 rebounds and 10 points. The Rockets took 30 shots from 3-point range, one fewer than their season high, and made 13, topped by four for Lowry.
The Nuggets put up only eight shots from beyond the arc, relying on medium range jumpers and lay-ups to outscore the Rockets 46-28 in the paint.
Patterson made consecutive jumpers pulling Houston to 90-89 but Denver gained some separation with a 6-0 burst that Ty Lawson started with a driving layup.
After Nene converted a three-point play with 3:09 left, the Nuggets went in front 103-95.
The Rockets cut it to 107-102 on Lowry's 3-pointer and a pair of free throws by Scola but Afflalo hit a turnaround jumper and Kenyon Martin slammed home a dunk at the end of a fast break to stretch the Nuggets' advantage to 111-102 with 1:03 remaining.
The Rockets didn't get closer than five points the rest of the way.
Tied at the break, the game was deadlocked at 81 going into the fourth quarter with Lawson making a pair of free throws after Lowry had drained his third 3-pointer of the game for a brief 81-79 Houston lead.
