Rockets 106 – Nets 96

Nets started out hitting their first four shots and then missed five in a row. The game was tied at 15 midway through the first. CJ Watson started for the injured Joe Johnson at guard.  Deron Williams picked up his second foul with five to play and took a seat on the bench.  Watson picked up the slack for Williams and ran the team. Houston went on a 9-2 run to take 24-23 lead.  Rockets hit six threes in the first to take a 34-31 lead after one quarter.

Second quarter began with the teams trading baskets and the Rockets continued to push the pace.  Williams played with the Bench Mob instead of Johnson. Omar Asik had his way in the paint early on with 10.  Rockets grabbed a 44-37 lead halfway through the second behind Asik.  Carlos Delfino was hitting open threes and the Nets were frustrated by the lack of foul calls.  James Harden and Keith Bogans got into a tussle after Harden baited him into a offensive foul but Bogans let it be known he would have none of it.   Lead grew to 52-42 with four to play with Rockets outscoring the Nets 24-16 in the paint. Rockets led 61-53 at half behind  58 percent shooting and hitting eight threes.  Lopez led the Nets with 15 at half while Harden was held to seven points.

Nets made a run to start the quarter and got it to 64-62. The offense looked smooth and the pick-n-roll defense.  Balanced scoring from Houston and the fast pace hurt the Nets. Delfino killed the Nets from deep as Reggie Evans could not guard him. Lopez continued his good play with jumpers and good defense.  Harden drained two straight threes to help build a two point lead to 84-75 after three.

Three pointers hurt the Nets again as Houston drilled two more to start the fourth build the lead to 15 points.  Andray Blatche came in and took a charge and played great to help the Nets cut the lead to 92-84.  Momentum shifted and the Nets came back to 92-87 with five minutes to play.  Mirza Teletovic hit a couple shots which was a sight for sore eyes.  Harden continued to go to the basket relentlessly and got every call imaginable down the stretch.  Watson did what he could to keep the Nets alive with long jumpers and great defense on Jeremy Lin.  Game was 97-95 three minutes to play as Teletovic kept hitting shots and even got on the ground for a loose ball and had the crowd roaring.  Delfino continued to haunt the Nets with his sixth 3-pointer and helped the Rockets finish the Nets off 106-96.

[quote_box]P.J. – We put ourselves into position to get back in it and they hit two with the clock running down where it was still a one possession game and then it was a two possession game. We didn’t execute our game plan very well in the first half, we did a lot better in the second half. We needed to finish better in the paint.[/quote_box]

Lopez ended with 27 points and six rebounds to go with Williams 15 points and 13 assists.  The Rockets were led by Harden and Delfino both with 22 points and a combined 10-16 from 3-point range.

GAME CHANGER: Carlos Delfino hit back to back jumpers in the last minute of play, one a 3-pointer, and it broke the Nets back and put the game away. He finished with 22 points and six rebounds.

STAT OF THE GAME: The Nets  have now lost 13 straight games to the Houston Rockets.