Nets-Rockets Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Jan 26 2013 1:42AM

The Brooklyn Nets are looking to re-establish their recent momentum, while the Houston Rockets are hoping they've already begun doing just that.

The host Rockets may be feeling better about their chances Saturday night considering they're going for a 12th straight victory against the Nets.

Brooklyn (26-17) had pulled within one game of Atlantic Division-leading New York by winning 10 of 11, but it couldn't continue to close that gap Friday. The Nets shot 40.8 percent from the field - 3 of 17 from beyond the arc - while being routed 101-77 at Memphis.

"They just came out and played better than us," guard Deron Williams said. "They played tougher than us. They outrebounded us and out-toughed us. This is a game where we didn't come out and play the way we were supposed to play."

The Rockets (23-22) were also enjoying success in the early part of this month, having won 10 of 12 before dropping a season-high seven in a row. They've since recovered to win two of their last three, and they were rarely threatened while pouring in 11 of 21 from 3-point range in Friday's 100-82 victory at New Orleans.

"We played the right way and guys made shots," said James Harden, who scored 30. "There were a lot of things that really put us over the top."

Facing Brooklyn may be an ideal way for Houston to build on that performance. The Rockets have won 14 of the past 15 meetings with the Nets, including 11 in a row while averaging 107.6 points and shooting 45.8 percent from beyond the arc.

Harden has been the spark behind Houston's high-scoring offense this season, and he will be the Rockets' lone representative when they host next month's All-Star game. He has connected on half of his 32 attempts from the floor and all 17 of his free throws over the past two games, totaling 53 points.

That's a vast improvement from the previous four contests, when he made just 25.0 percent from the field and needed to connect on 40 of 48 free throws to average 21.0 points - still well below his career-best mark of 25.9 for the season.

Jeremy Lin is averaging a modest 12.0 points, but he totaled 46 and 16 assists in two meetings with the Nets during his breakout stretch for New York last season. Williams also thrived offensively in the point guard matchup, averaging 29.5 points and 8.5 assists in those two contests.

The Nets are expecting to have Williams back after he left Friday's defeat in the third quarter with a quad contusion. Interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said he could have returned if the outcome had been in doubt.

"It just seemed like more sense to let the (reserves) finish it out," said Carlesimo, who is 12-3 since replacing the fired Avery Johnson last month.

Williams has missed the Nets' last two meetings with Houston, and Brook Lopez was also out for the most recent one, which the Rockets won 112-106 on March 10. The center had averaged 20.6 points on 57.5 percent shooting over the previous five games in the series.

Joe Johnson found success against the Rockets while with Atlanta, scoring 21.6 points per game the last eight times he's faced them.

Harden, Asik lead Rockets past Nets

By CHRIS DUNCAN
Posted Jan 26 2013 11:55PM

HOUSTON (AP) Jeremy Lin said the Houston Rockets just needed to see what they were doing wrong in order to fix it.

James Harden scored 29 points, Chandler Parsons added 16 points and a career-high 11 assists and the Rockets dominated inside to beat Brooklyn 119-106 on Saturday night for their 12th consecutive win over the Nets.

Omer Asik had 20 points and 16 rebounds for Houston, which outrebounded the Nets 50-31 and outscored Brooklyn 60-24 in the paint. Houston had 31 assists on 43 field goals and committed only 11 turnovers, the team's lowest total in three weeks.

The Rockets dropped seven in a row from Jan. 9-19, and Lin said a lengthy film session on Thursday helped them correct their mistakes.

"We weren't doing what we were supposed to do," Lin said. "The coaches showed us a few days ago what we can look like. That was a nice reminder to all of us."

Nets star Deron Williams scored 27 points, but cooled off after a 20-point first quarter. He was ejected with 1:07 left after arguing a call with referee David Jones and didn't speak to the media after the game.

The individual duel between Lin and Williams became a backstory as the Rockets pulled away.

Lin had his breakout game against Williams last Feb. 4, scoring 25 points and launching "Linsanity" in a 99-92 victory for the New York Knicks. Williams scored 38 points the next time they met at Madison Square Garden, leading the Nets to a 100-92 win.

Houston nabbed Lin in the offseason, and Raymond Felton replaced Lin in the Knicks' lineup. Williams said before the season that he thought Felton was the better point guard.

Lin downplayed the matchup with Williams and deflected another round of questions about his rise to stardom in New York last year.

"That's well beyond me," Lin said with an easy smile. "I'm well past that."

But Williams seemed pretty determined at the beginning of the game, scoring Brooklyn's first nine points, and 17 of its first 22. He started 7 for 7 and just beat the first-quarter buzzer with his fourth 3-pointer to put Brooklyn up 29-28.

He went 3 for 8 over the final three quarters, as the Rockets swarmed him with multiple players.

"We were just trying to make it difficult (on Williams)," Lin said. "We had extra guys coming in to protect on when he would drive. We just tried to load on him really fast."

Brook Lopez scored 21 points and Joe Johnson added 13 for Brooklyn, which trailed by as much as 18 in the first half.

"We dug a hole because we weren't defending well or we couldn't put the ball in the basket," Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo said.

The Rockets had 17 assists on their first 20 field goals. Parsons had eight assists by himself in the first half, matching his career high for a game.

"Our spacing was unbelievable," Parsons said. "It allowed more guys to penetrate, it allowed more guys to have open shots and we really moved the ball great."

Williams didn't score with Parsons guarding him in the second quarter, and Lopez went 1 for 7 in the first half. Houston outrebounded Brooklyn 27-15 and outscored the Nets 32-6 in the paint to lead 62-49 at the break.

Lin was back on Williams in the third, and the Rockets stayed comfortably in front. Brooklyn played better defense toward the end of the quarter and cut the deficit to 89-80. Williams missed a 3-point try and Carlos Delfino finished a fast break with a dunk early in the fourth to restore Houston's double-digit lead.

Lin sank his first two 3-pointers of the game to put Houston over 100 points for just the third time in six games. Harden converted a three-point play and drove for a reverse layup to give the Rockets a 113-98 advantage with four minutes left.

NOTES: The Rockets reinstated suspended rookie forward Royce White before the game. He's due to report to Rio Grande Valley, the team's developmental league affiliate, on Feb. 11. White, the 16th overall pick in the last draft, has been inactive all season while he worked on an arrangement with the team to balance his acknowledged anxiety disorder with the demands of the NBA schedule. ... Williams is the first Houston opponent to score 20 points in a quarter since Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 in the fourth quarter of a 117-110 Dallas victory last April. ... Harden missed a free throw, snapping a streak of 36 straight successful foul shots.

Notebook: Rockets 119, Nets 106

Matt Miller, For NBA.com
Posted Sun Jan 27, 2013 12:05 AM - Updated Sun Jan 27, 2013 12:07 AM

THE FACTS: In a battle of contrasting styles, the Brooklyn Nets were a step too slow for the running Houston Rockets, who won 119-106 on Saturday night at Toyota Center. James Harden scored 29 points and dished out seven assists, while Omer Asik finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds. Chandler Parsons added 16 points, a career-high 11 assists and six boards. Jeremy Lin poured in 14 points to go with nine dimes for Houston (24-22), which has put together back-to-back wins for the first time in nearly three weeks.

Deron Williams led the Nets (26-18) 27 points and 11 assists. Brooklyn has lost two contests in a row for the first time since P.J. Carlesimo took over the coaching duties after the club fired Avery Johnson. Brook Lopez chipped in 21 points, seven rebounds and five blocks, but the Brooklyn big man and his fellow Nets hardly made their presence felt on the defensive end. The Rockets shot 49.4 percent overall and outscored Brooklyn 60-24 in the paint.

QUOTABLE: "I've said it all year long. It's how we need to play, but we've got to be determined to do it. ... You have to be determined to just keep on going. ... When guys are crisp and moving, it becomes a lot of different actions that people have to guard."

-- Houston coach Kevin McHale on pushing the tempo

THE STAT: The Rockets torched the Nets with rapid, decisive ball movement, assisting on 31 of 43 baskets. Houston, which has dished out dimes on at least 61.8 percent of its field goals in six consecutive games, has an assist-to-bucket ratio of 133-to-202 (65.8 percent) over its last six contests. The Rockets improved to 5-1 this season when they distribute at least 30 assists.

TURNING POINT: Williams carried Brooklyn in the first quarter, but the Nets were unable to control the pace once he focused solely on facilitating. With Brooklyn throwing up bricks -- misfiring on 10 of its first 11 field-goal attempts in the second period -- the Rockets were able to jump start their transition game and generate easy buckets. Houston scored on 11 of its first 14 possessions in the second as it went on a 25-6 run that turned a 29-28 deficit into a 53-35 advantage.

QUOTABLE II: "Maybe we were a step slow [defensively]. I don't know if I'm communicating enough and contesting enough, but we have to change what we're doing and get back to doing what works."

-- Brook Lopez on the Nets failure to stop the Rockets

HOT: Williams was unconscious in the opening period, manhandling the Rockets' point guards en route to 20 points on 7-for-7 shooting overall and 4-for-4 shooting from 3-point range. For good measure, Williams capped his first-quarter onslaught by burying a 26-footer with Toney Douglas' hand in his face. No player has scored more points in one period against Houston this season.

NOT: Aside from Williams, the Nets' starting five was practically non-existent on the offensive end before halftime. Lopez, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace and Reggie Evans combined for only 11 points on 15.0 percent shooting (3-for-20) in the first half.

GOOD MOVE: Houston utilized dribble-penetration quite effectively to break down Brooklyn's defense. Harden, Lin and Parsons each remained committed to attacking the rim, which helped the trio create plenty of layups for themselves and high-percentage looks for the rest of the Rockets.

QUOTABLE III: "We just played our game. That's what we're here for ... to be aggressive and to make plays not only for ourselves, but our teammates as well."

-- James Harden

BAD MOVE: Williams seemed to lose his edge and aggression after his torrid start, attempting only five shots over the next two quarters. Although Williams did not need to resort to "hero ball," he certainly could have looked to score first more often with his teammates struggling to find success on the offensive end.

NOTABLE: The Rockets announced moments before tipoff that they have lifted rookie Royce White's suspension. White is expected to join Houston's Developmental League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, on Feb. 11. ... Williams was ejected with 1:07 remaining in the fourth quarter after sharing some unpleasant words with an official. He refused to speak with the media after the game. ... The Rockets have won 12 consecutive games against the Nets. ... Brooklyn fell to 1-7 this season when playing the second game of a back-to-back set on the road. .... Houston improved to 5-0 this season when it pours in at least 60 points in the paint. ... The Rockets have recorded 16 60-point halves this season. ... Houston has grabbed at least 10 more rebounds than each of its last two opponents. ... The Rockets are now 10-3 when they drain more 3-pointers than their opponent. ... Houston forward Marcus Morris grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds.

UP NEXT: For the Nets, Monday vs. Orlando, Wednesday vs. Miami, Friday vs. Chicago. For the Rockets, Monday @ Utah, Wednesday @ Denver, Saturday vs. Charlotte.

• Nets: Shengelia, Taylor
• Rockets: Motiejunas, White

• Nets: Williams
• Rockets: --

• Lead Changes: 10
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
• Officials: #36 David Jones, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #77 Karl Lane
• Attendance: 18236
• Duration: 2:09