VIDEO – Nets Recap: #Nets 106 – #Rockets 119 – Rebounding A PROBLEM

By
Updated: January 27, 2013

Nets 106 – Rockets 119

The beauty of the NBA is that no matter how badly you get beat one night you will always have another game the next day or two to make up for it and get it out of your mind.  This was the case for the Nets and they hoped for a better performance when they traveled to Houston Saturday night to try and regain some lost momentum from the rebounding debacle that took place in Memphis where they were beaten up as well as beaten down by the Grizzlies 101-77.

The game started better for Brooklyn as they seemed to match the Rockets intensity and passion early in the first quarter.  One player in particular seemed quite focused and that was Deron Williams, who came out stroking the jumper and hit his first seven shots to score 20 first quarter points (most by a Net in any quarter this year).  Williams hit four 3-pointers and made it look like he wanted to make a point to Jeremy Lin all over again.  The rest of the Nets did not start out so well and only managed to score the nine other points in the first to help the Nets lead 29-28 after one.

The second quarter did not start well for Brooklyn as the Rockets ran off a 7-0 run behind bad defense by Andray Blatche and Kris Humphries.  Williams rolled his ankle early in the second when Tony Douglas and company started to double-team Williams every time he touched the ball.  Brook Lopez started slow and was 1-7 and seemed a step slow on defense as he allowed much smaller players to score on second chances.  The Nets were out-rebounded by the Rockets 27-15 in the half.  Omer Asik was dunking and finishing at the rim left and right with no resistance and the lead grew to 18 points as the Rockets abused the Nets in the paint and ran off a 25-6 run.  CJ Watson tried to bring the Nets back with eight points in the second but the Nets were outscored 20-2 in the paint in the quarter and 32-6 for the half giving up 62 first half points to be down 62-49.

The third quarter began with James Harden forcing the issue again and for the second game in a row Joe Johnson was a no-show on both ends.  Gerald Wallace tried to get the Nets back into the game with great hustle and defensive intensity and even scored a few points in the third.  The layup line and road to the basket was still open for the Rockets and they kept piling up the points in the paint to get the lead to 20 points.  Mirza Teletovic came in and sparked the Nets with his long range shooting and Johnson woke up to cut the lead to nine points after three quarters 89-80.

Teletovic hit another 3-pointer early in the fourth only to see Lin and company match the long range shots on the other end.  Teletovic played some good minutes and ended with nine points on 3-for-7 shooting and showed he can play with anybody.  Lopez came alive in the fourth and tried to keep the Nets in the game but Asik kept punishing the Nets inside.  The Nets first turnover of the second half came with 7:30 left in the fourth so it wasn’t the careless play of the night before and the ended the game with only 10 turnovers.  The Rockets made shots when they needed to late in the game and frustrated the Nets who thought they didn’t get any calls from the refs.  The Nets down 105-96 with six minutes left and had a chance to steal this game but more questionable calls led to the Rockets keeping the lead.  Williams ended with 27  points, 11 assists, four rebounds, two steals, two blocks and two injuries before he was ejected with 1:07 to play for arguing with the officials after continual no-calls.  Lopez played 33 minutes and totaled 21 points, seven rebounds, five blocks and had zero turnovers.  The Nets had a season high in 3-pointers made with 16 made but shot too many with 36 total. Houston wins 119-106.

[quote_box]Carlesimo: “We’re just getting annihilated in the paint”[/quote_box]

GAME CHANGER: James Harden hit all the big shots down the stretch to keep the Nets at bay and scored 29 points to go with seven assists and two steals.

STAT OF THE NIGHT: The Rockets manhandled and out-rebounded the Nets 50-31 overall and the Nets gave up 60 points in the paint again after giving up 62 points the night before.

Leave a Reply