Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray (hamstring) returned to the starting lineup for Wednesday's 134-124 home win against the Houston Rockets, scoring 16 points in 22 minutes.
Murray was 4-of-14 from the floor and added six assists.
Nikola Jokic, who sat out Monday's win over the LA Clippers with a lower back injury, scored 32 points, adding 10 rebounds and 15 assists.
Murray had missed nearly a month with his hamstring injury, which was sustained on Nov. 4 against the Chicago Bulls. The point guard missed time near the end of training camp in October with a similar injury. Nuggets coach Michael Malone had indicated that Murray's recent hamstring strain came on a specific play against the Bulls.
Welcomed with a roaring "He's back!" from the public address announcer and a hearty ovation from the home crowd before tip-off, Murray injured his ankle after he came down awkwardly on a missed contested shot at the rim two minutes into the game and walked gingerly back to the bench after a Nuggets timeout. He immediately returned out of the timeout, though he described his ankle injury as "frustrating."
"The hamstring's fine," Murray said. "I've worked enough to get it back to strength. Now, it's just another thing. I've got to work on that and hopefully I'll be ready."
After that initial scare, his team had little reason to worry the rest of the night.
Murray, 26, is a cornerstone of the Nuggets' championship team with the two-time MVP Jokic. Murray enjoyed a spectacular postseason during Denver's run to the NBA title a season ago, averaging 26.1 points, 7.1 assists and 5.7 rebounds in 20 playoff games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.