HOUSTON Rockets’ Trevor Ariza lost a sneaker with 4:53 remaining and his team trailing by 15 during their NBA game against the Denver Nuggets on Monday. Will Barton picked it up and casually threw it off the court so as not to trip on it, leading to a technical for delay of game.

    For some reason, that incident gave the Rockets some traction. They wound up cutting the deficit to 110-108 and had a chance to take the lead. But Jason Terry missed a 3-pointer with 15.9 seconds left and Barton wrapped up the 114-108 win from the line as the Nuggets completed a three-game sweep of the Rockets in the season series.

    “I’ve seen guys take that sneaker and throw it 15 rows into the stands,’’ Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Will just threw it off the field of play.’’

    After the game, Barton said he chatted with Ariza about the incident.

    “We’re cool. No hard feelings,’’ Barton said. “Stuff happens during the game, man.’’

    James Harden finished with 24 points for the Rockets, including five of the team’s season-high 18 3-pointers. The Nuggets outscored the Rockets 62-36 in the paint and out-rebounded them by a 52-26 margin.

    “Our defensive level needs to be at a point where it doesn’t matter who our opponent is, we should be able to get stops,’’ Houston interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We didn’t get the job done often enough.’’

    Jameer Nelson started for rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who’s out with a sprained right ankle. Nelson had 10 points and seven assists. Gary Harris added a career-high 21 points.

    The jam of the night belonged to Barton. He blew past Ariza along the baseline in the second quarter and threw down a one-handed dunk over Donatas Motiejunas.

    Asked if that was his best dunk ever, Barton said: “It’s up there. But I’ve had some pretty nasty ones.’’

    Once again, ex-Nuggets player Ty Lawson was booed when he stepped on the court.

    Lawson spent six seasons with Denver, but trouble away from the court, including multiple drunken driving arrest, soured his reputation with the fans and led to him being traded to Houston over the summer. He’s embraced a fresh start.

    (SD-Agencies)